Home
by Iniora Nackatori
Summary: The great battle is over. And now, Soldato-J faces his next battle. One which proves to be most difficult, for can a weapon of war ever understand "home"?


Synopsis: The great battle is over. And now, Soldato-J faces his next battle. One which proves to be most difficult, for can a weapon of war ever understand "home"?

Set after an AU ending to _Final_. Also, from the research I've done, it appears Kaidou's mother doesn't have a name. I've taken the liberty of giving her one.

* * *

_**Home**_

So. This was it. Difficult to describe "it". A "home". He knew what a "home" was. Soldato-J was a solder of Abel, a living weapon, and could read a dictionary – once the proper programs for reading the Blue Planet's alien languages had been uploaded both into TOMORO-0117 and his cybernetic brains. However, the dictionary definition for such a domicile had left him with a different impression than what he was standing in front of now.

Two stories tall, made of wood, with a small patch of organic plant material in front cut in half by a brick paved path. The path led from the road to a solitary door. The door was also made of wood, with a mosaic of some type cut into its top center. A domicile identifier, perhaps? No – the numbers along the box located by the side of the road were the domicile identifiers. He recalled the cyborg had matched them to a piece of paper inscribed with directions. So then the mosaic was artistic.

Over all, it did not look different than any other domicile which lined the roads. From his research, Soldato-J had been left with the impression that a home was something more than a mere location. Apparently, his research had been in error.

Gravely in error, from Arma's reaction. Search the neighborhood though he might, Soldato-J could identify no threat within one hundred kilometers of their location. Even so, Arma looked as though he might trigger the J Jewel's Absolute Barrier at any moment.

The cyborg had the gal to put his hand on Arma's shoulder. The physical contact – a strict taboo – had the opposite effect: Arma relaxed slightly, attention turned from the "home" to the cyborg.

"Noting wrong in being scared," the cyborg promised. "I'd be scared, too, if I had to face my mom after what we've all been through. J and I are right behind ya."

Arma looked to Soldato-J. Clearly he was about to enter battle and was requesting support. Soldato-J responded appropriately by nodding, once, indication he was ready to back Arma as always.

"Stay here...?" Arma requested.

The cyborg made a gesture with his hand, one thumb up. During their trip back from the Trinary Star System, Soldato-J had discovered this meant affirmative, whereas the middle finger being lifted meant the exact opposite. Such an alien method of conveying information...

Arma made his way to the domicile's door. He stopped for a moment, turning to confirm that both cyborg and J were still present. Then Arma steeled himself – and pressed a button located at the side of the door's frame. Somewhere within the domicile, an electronic buzzer went off.

The door opened to reveal a short human backed by soft yellow light. There were streaks of grey in the woman's hair, her skin was wrinkled, but her cloths were neatly pressed. And her reflexes were clearly sharp, as she hesitated for only a half beat before falling on Arma. It was _not_ an attack – unless she was trying to squeeze the life out of Arma?

"Ikumi...! My baby Ikumi...!" the woman was whispering in a strained voice.

"I'm home, mama..." Arma answered, voice equally soft.

There were a few more minutes of the woman sobbing. She was still sobbing when she came out to them. Not the least daunted by his armor, the woman boldly took Soldato-J's hand in both of hers. Bowing repeatedly she paused in her thanks for returning her "baby Ikumi" only long enough to let go of Soldato-J's hand and to latch on to the cyborg's hand.

"Ikumi-kun is a true here, Mrs. Kaidou," the cyborg said, when he got a chance to say anything. "A true hero. You should be very proud of him."

The words seemed to have no meaning for the woman. At length they managed to disengage from her; while she walked Arma into the domicile, asking if he would like his favorite omelet rice for dinner, the cyborg suggested they withdraw.

The ninja robot Volfogg had driven them to this location. This and other light duties were his to fulfill until he was deemed fully recovered. It seemed as though the whole of this Gutsy Galaxy Guard – or Three G – organization was on a similar recovery schedule. Which, after the events with the Eleven Planetary Masters of Sol, made a great deal of sense. More so than... well, whatever had just happened.

The cyborg gave him an odd look when Soldato-J voiced his concerns. "What, didn't you have a mother?"

"What is a... mother?"

The reaction Soldato-J received was unexpected. Volfogg slammed on his breaks so hard he spun out of control, crashing to one side of the road. The cyborg was halfway out of his seat, _staring_ at Soldato-J as though the Warrior of Abel had just suggested kissing a Zonder.

"_**What?!**_"

Soldato-J repeated the question: "What is a mother?"

After a long, unsettling amount of time, cyborg Guy sat back down in his seat. Volfogg had recovered first and was now driving back to Three G's planetary base with significant haste.

"Oh boy..." The cyborg took a moment to gather himself. "Let me ask you, first... How were you born?"

An odd question, but as it seemed pertinent to his own, Soldato-J answered: "I was created by Able."

"Created?"

"Mass produced, along with my fellow warriors and Armas."

"Mas produced..." the cyborg repeated. Then he asked, "So you weren't a civilian first? You were... born, a Soldato?"

"Yes." Soldato-J paused before asking, "That's not how you were created?"

The cyborg took a deep breath; let it out in a sighed, "Oh, man..."

* * *

"Is something wrong, J?" TOMORO-0117 asked his captain and partner. Sensors were showing J's power was fluctuating slightly, and that his physical response time was down by point two nine milliseconds. A significant enough drop to be worrisome, and a possible indication of shock.

There was no response from J until after he was in his personal quarters, with the door firmly sealed. "Our allies are insane," he reported.

"I concur. Their information network, this... world wide web. It is rife with illogical information."

"Have you examined the concepts of mother and father?"

"I have been unable to grasp the definitions of "mother" and "father". The concepts appear severely abstract. They are used in recreational contexts and in apparently religious contexts. To the best of my ability, these terms appear to be titles for certain categories of humans in relation to their reproductive patterns. In addition, "mother" and "father" appear to be one strata of the category "parents". This category includes such titles as "grandmother" and "grandfather", and "great grandmother" and "great grandfather". The number of times the word "great" is used appears to be in proportion to linear decent from the current generation's offspring."

J did not pace his chambers; such was not his style. But his emotional turmoil was clear if one were familiar with him.

"The way humans are born is..." J paused, as if looking for the correct term.

"Affirmative," TOMORO-0117 agreed.

"Cyborgs are not common."

"If not for the Green Planet's intervention, humans would not have the technological aptitude necessary to create a cyborg."

"They _choose_ whether to be upgraded."

"Unusual."

"...Renais was not allowed to choose."

TOMORO-0117 chose to be silent. In a moment, J returned to the original topic of discussion. "Arma was provided a "mother" when he was found."

"Mothers appear to be a requirement on this planet," TOMORO-0117 noted.

"The cyborg," by which J meant Guy, "is going to host a social function in two days. Something called a picnic."

"Picnic. A pleasure excursion at which a meal is consumed outdoors. Often used as a social event to improve and/or reaffirm social bonds among peers."

"How odd." At TOMORO-0117's prompting, J continued: "These humans prefer to keep one another close. It would be understandable if it were a training exercise of some type," cohesion was necessary to execute military maneuvers, "but this is... strange."

"J. We do not have any allies besides the Three G. Our planet is dead." And they had revenged her death, which was all the mourning they required. "We will have to adapt."

"I know."

He knew. But that didn't mean he had to like it.

* * *

The picnic had been a simple affair though, like most human customs, it was confusing. No one was in armor or uniform, with the exception of Renais. Even then her "uniform" was her cold coat, a necessary armament given her malfunctioning regulation systems. Underneath her coat she was wearing a short skirt and a t-shirt. It was similar attire to what everyone else was wearing. Casual cloths, was the term, wasn't it?

As such, Soldato-J was conspicuous. No one commented on his armor, though, and Soldato-J found nothing more wanted of him than his company. He could participate or not as he desired. The Three G members all had a word for him or were willing to engage in conversation, but none of them would pressure him into participating. He floated akin to a cloud through the sky that was the picnic gathering. It was rather... nice.

Or it had been, until the old human who was Arma's assigned "mother" asked him if he was Arma's father. This question was initially lost in translation as she had called Arma "Ikuto", which appeared to be his Earth name. Once the error had been corrected, Soldato-J had been at a loss.

His confusion must have been palpable as the cyborg quickly intervened to say that Soldato-J was not Arma's father, but his older brother. A rather loose translation of their actual connection, as Arma and he were chronologically the same age. But apparently this answer was sufficient for the old woman who nodded.

And then she invited Soldato-J to her home for a family get together tomorrow. Which... made no sense. Wasn't this picnic a sufficient social function?

"I'm sure he'd be glad to come!" the cyborg answered for him.

"Please come no later than five," the old woman smiled. Then she was called away by Latio's assigned mother to assist with some picnic related activity.

"What are you doing?" Soldato-J demanded of the cyborg.

"Hold on," he requested. Then with urgency, he found Renais and his primary support personnel. A human named Mikoto, if Soldato-J remembered her identification correctly. "Mikoto, Renais, J needs a briefing on human families. Now."

"Guy?" Renais inquired without inquiring at all. Soldato-J admired that trait. While most humans were overly active, Renais was able to act with proper restraint.

"Soldatos never had families. And tomorrow he's meting Kaidou-kun's mother for dinner."

Renais looked non-pulsed. "And?"

"And he doesn't know what a mother _is_."

The Mikoto woman squeaked, while Renais looked as though she had been sucker punched. After a moment Renais recovered. Massaging her temples, she ordered Guy to, "Go get papa," then directed Soldato-J to follow her. In short order they were inside the Three G planetary base, in a room which appeared to be designed for meetings. The human mechanic and the cyborg both arrived shortly.

"So... Soldatos didn't start out as civilians?" the mechanic inquired. Clearly, he had been briefed, and was requesting confirmation on a key point. Though why it was key was beyond Soldato-J's understanding.

A lot of things about Earthlings were beyond his understanding.

"Oh boy," the mechanic sighed. "I guess we better start with the basics, then."

* * *

As the request had been to arrive no later than five, Soldato-J arrived at the Kaidou domicile fifteen minutes before five. At the suggestion of the cyborg he brought a basket with local fruits and vegetables with him. A "present", the cyborg had called it. Proper etiquette for a guest when invited to a social function more formal than a picnic, but less formal than a political social function, was to bring a "present" for the host. It seemed counter-intuitive; by bringing foodstuffs to a "dinner" social function, was Soldato-J not insinuating that the host was unable to adequately provide for the event?

Apparently, he was not. Or at least that is what he had been assured of. Repeatedly.

He had been provided a basic briefing on how to enter the domicile according to Blue Planet custom: He was to land on the road (as he had opted to fly instead of bothering with a Three G vehicle), then walk up the brick path (not walking on the grass – the plant stuff was decorative and somewhat delicate), and when he arrived at the door he was to, gently, depress the button on the door's frame. This was called a door bell and would signal to the domicile's occupants that there was a guest requesting entry.

Beyond that, Soldato-J was informed he would have to "wing it". Whatever _that_ meant. At least this was a small social function with a known ally. Any errors could be corrected without loss of honor.

He hoped.

Arma was the one who answered the door. "J."

"Arma."

Arma nodded once, then stood back from the doorway. He informed the domicile's other occupant, "Mama, Soldato-J is here." Then he whisper/hissed, "Here," and held out a pair of red fuzzy slippers. At Soldato-J's startled blink, Arma explained, "Its rude to wear outdoors shoes inside the house. And take off your helmet."

Looking at the concrete/stone entryway Soldato-J could see a selection of shoes (tennis shoes, sandals, so on) were set along the wall, and that Arma, standing on the wooden raised floor, was wearing slippers. Slippers with a cartoon bear's face stitched on the toes...?

Deciding it better not to inquire, Soldato-J recalled both boots and helmet, and accepted the fuzzy slippers. They were at least comfortable.

The old woman exited from the kitchen area as Arma and he entered the dining area. "Ah, welcome, welcome," she greeted him warmly.

"Good evening." That was the proper term, wasn't it? Almost too quickly, he offered the woman the basket. "For you, ma'am." He glanced aside at Arma, who nodded, subtle assurance Soldato-J had not misstepped as yet.

"Oh my! What a lovely selection. Thank you." Taking the basket, the woman then asked, "Is spaghetti alright for dinner?"

"He's never had it before," Arma answered when Soldato-J did not.

"Oh? I could make something else-"

"Spaghetti is fine," Soldato-J assured her.

"Alright then." The old woman had a warm, disarming smile. Taking the present with her, she returned to the kitchen, saying, "Please make yourself at home. It shouldn't be much longer. Would you like anything to drink?"

"No, thank you," Soldato-J answered.

Following Arma's example, he took a seat at the table. It was, at least, a nice room he supposed. The walls were soda cream blue, the furniture was old but in good repair. There were pictures framed around the room, still shots of Arma and the old woman. Eight years worth of memories preserved, though flimsily so, presented as honor trophies.

"J."

"Yes?"

Arma rolled a plastic glass between his palms, the one sign of his nervousness. Purple red eyes staring straight at Soldato-J, Arma announced (though quietly, so the old woman could not hear), "Mama is scared you are going to take me away."

"What?" Why would he? This was a secure enough location. And their battles were over. There was no need for a lengthy deployment.

"If she asks, tell her you're not. Tell her I can stay. And _don't_ call me Arma. Call me Ikumi, my Earth name."

There was a touch of urgency, of desperation, to Arma's voice. Sensing that urgency, Soldato-J agreed without pushing for an explanation.

"Diner is ready!" the old woman announced. There was a slight stumble as she tried to negotiate a large kettle and a sauce pan at once. Arma swiftly got to his feet; after a few meaningless reassurances from the old woman that everything was fine, Arma succeeded in negotiating the sauce pan from her. Then, once the sauce pan was set on a cloth cover on the table, Arma fetched a glass of ice water and put it next to Soldato-J's plate.

Before Soldato-J could say yay or nay, the old woman put a pile of strings on his plate and slathered the red, chunky sauce on top. The strings were a type of noodle and a quick check against his Library identified the chunks as tomatoes.

"Thank you for the meal," Arma said, clapping his hands together. This ritual, at least, Soldato-J understood, having seen it dozens of times on their trip back from the Trinary Star System. Not all Earthlings followed this particular tradition. Something akin to a regional dialect, he supposed.

"Thank you." Soldato-J abstained from clapping his hands together.

"Please enjoy."

Following Arma's example, Soldato-J picked up the fork – a weird utensil, but at least its usage was more straight-forward than a pair of sticks – and gathered up a few strands at a time. Twirling them to make for a less messy transit, he capped the twisted ball by stabbing a tomato junk. The flavor was sweet with a touch of tang; nothing like any of the foodstuffs he had consumed on the Red Planet. Admittedly this was far better fair than any he could recall having before.

"Is it good?" the old woman asked.

It was then Soldato-J realized he had stopped eating after the first bite. Swallowing, he announced, "Its delicious!" and set in to his meal with a will.

The old woman smiled. "I'm glad you like it. I was worried the sauce... Well." Her smile was more forced than genuine; she tried to cover her nervousness by asking, "Would you like seconds?" She and Arma were still on their first serving, yet J had demolished his without much pause.

"Yes, if you please," Soldato-J requested. The old woman served him a larger helping this time, with an extra serving of sauce.

"So... you're Ikumi's older brother?"

Arma shot him a piercing look, as though trying to warn him.

"That is the closest definition, yes."

"Mmm. Earth food must be a poor comparison to food from your home planet."

Soldato-J bought some time by using a napkin to clean sauce from his lips. "The Red Planet was a beautiful world once. It is a dead world now."

The old woman looked startled. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Don't be. My mission is complete and the Red Planet avenged. There is no need for sympathy."

"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, its just-"

"Mama," Arma spoke quickly, "once revenge is taken, all that's left is a bunch of dirt, and nothing else to mourn." He didn't smile, not quite, but instead added, "Its really hard to insult J, especially about dirt."

"...Oh."

They ate in silence for a time longer. After some silent cue, Arma offered to take the dishes back into the kitchen. This left Soldato-J alone with the old woman.

The old woman spoke with a quiet voice: "Please forgive my abruptness, but... I don't believe its right to separate brothers from one another. I understand if you wish to take Ikumi back under your care, however... however... "

"I have no intention of taking Arma – that is, Ikumi – out of your care," Soldato-J interrupted the old woman's plea.

"Arma? Is that his... real name?"

Damn it, he hadn't meant to let that slip...! "That was his name on the Red Planet. Ikumi is his name here, the one he wishes to be known by."

"O-Oh..." For a moment, the woman looked as though she might cry. Then just as abruptly, she steeled herself – the reason why being Arma's return to the dining room. "All cleaned up?" she asked him.

"Yes, mama. J made sure we didn't have any leftovers."

Arma. Teasing him. Sky above, would this planet never cease to shock him?

"We have some ice cream for desert, if you would like?"

"Ice cream...?" Soldato-J blinked.

The old woman looked shocked. "There wasn't any ice cream on your home planet?"

"No, mama, there wasn't," Arma answered.

"Spaghetti I can understand, but no ice cream? That seems cruel. Ikumi, dear, get the bowls and spoons, and all the toppings. I'll go get the ice cream from the freezer."

When the old woman vanished into the rear of the domicile, Arma demanded, "What did she say?"

"It was as you thought."

"And?"

"And I told her the truth." Soldato-J frowned. "Why are you worried about this?"

"You wouldn't understand," Arma began to say. Abruptly he stopped and rushed to the kitchen. The old woman was coming back into the dining room, her hands full with a cream colored carton.

"Vanilla is the most versatile of flavors. Best, I think, for trying ice cream for the first time." As she spoke, Arma was returning with three shallow bowls, three medium spoons, and one large flat-ish spoon, almost a paddle. He was also levitating out a dark brown bottle, a bag labeled chopped walnuts, washed strawberries wrapped in a towel, and a knife. The old woman did a double take; then her expression was warm as she said, "Strawberries are an excellent idea, Ikumi. Thank you for thinking of it."

Arma blushed for a moment, an expression of relief. Then he offered Soldato-J the knife with a request for him to dice the strawberries. The old woman demonstrated with the first berry. While Soldato-J followed her example, the old woman dished out equal portions of a creamy white substance from the carton. Once dished, she added the chopped nuts, a drizzle of dark brown, almost black sauce, and layered the strawberries so that they looked like an opening fan.

"Vanilla ice cream, walnuts, chocolate sauce, and strawberries."

Soldato-J looked at the dish; tried his best to keep a neutral expression. "Thank you." They waited (politely?) for Soldato-J to try some. His first reaction was to blink. It certainly was sweet. The strawberries were a nice touch. The chocolate sauce wasn't bad... Over all, it was an interesting experience.

Everyone had been served ice cream and was, to their own individual degree, enjoying it, when the old woman asked, "Mr. Soldato-J, do you have a home?"

Soldato-J blinked, while Arma stopped mid ice cream bite. Alarmed, he looked towards Soldato-J.

"I have quarters on my ship, the J-Ark. Three G has also offered me quarters at their space station."

The old woman shook her head negative. "A ship and a space station aren't a home. And family..." she looked towards Arma. "Family should not be separated, not if it can be helped. I have a spare room if you would like."

A spare room – oh, bother. Soldato-J did his best to bow while seated. "While I appreciate the offer, I-"

_Say yes._

Soldato-J tried not to react at Arma's mental voice. _Arma_?

_Just do it!_

"-respectfully accept."

And had to wonder what, exactly, he was getting himself in to.

* * *

Total time since Three G had returned to the Sol system: Six months. Total time since Soldato-J had been formally added to the Three G establishment: Five point three months. Total time since Soldato-J had moved in to the Kaidou residence: Five months. Total time since Mrs. Kaidou had discovered TOMORO-0117 was sentient: Three point eight months. Total time since Mrs. Kaidou had insisted some type of communication rigging be set up so TOMORO-0117 could be part of the Kaidou household as well: Three point eight months.

In that time, the only other human who had been half as intriguing had been Renais.

The G-Stone cyborg was a mix of contradictions. She was strong, brave, a capable fighter, yet there was a weakness to her which she overcame with every movement. The _rage_ burning inside her was surpassed in temperature only by two sources: The heat her flawed systems generated, and the sun.

Renais and J made intriguing partners.

And if the woman's female robot companions would just _stop_ being so annoying, TOMORO-0117 would not mind working with Renais more often. As it was the French built AIs were doing there best to try and drive TOMORO-0117 into self destruction.

"_Stay out of my files!_" TOMORO-0117 boomed across the void which was electronic space.

"Then keep your files out of reach," the twin AIs giggled.

TOMORO-0117 issued a soundless buzz of pent up frustration. The only way he could keep his files any further out of reach would be to lock them down behind Red category firewalls. Which would be counterproductive to information gathering and exchange programs. Perhaps Volfogg could be of assistance. Or maybe that old woman... She seemed strangely aware of things. Truthfully, she had been one of the first people to suggest J and Renais would make such an excellent team. As she had known nothing of their work against the Eleven Masters of Sol, her opinion was logged as unbiased confirmation.

"TOMORO?" J inquired of his ship's computer.

"Are you sure I cannot shoot them? Not even with ES Missiles with terminus set to Earth's moon?" TOMORO-0117 inquired of his captain.

"Perhaps during the next live fire training exercise."

The next one scheduled was three months away. If things kept up as they had been, TOMORO-0117 would have an "oops" with his ES Missile guidance system and send the two to Pluto. And not feel the least bit guilty about it, either.

J distracted him by asking, "How has your research on the humans been progressing?"

"Slowly," TOMORO-0117 reported, "though Volfogg has been instrumental in decoding a great deal of information. As has the woman Kaidou Sakura."

"Oh? Arma's... mother?" After months of practice J still had trouble with the foreign word, both in pronunciation and understanding.

"Yes. It was at her recommendation I started posting to a variety of web forums. Volfogg helped to insure I was untraceable, of course."

"Hum." J turned his attention from the first batch of scans, moving on to the next. "And?"

"So far my research confirms what we already suspected: Humans are, as a species, insane. Large pockets of their populous are obsessed with trivial materials. Individuals gauge their progress in abstract ideals. Their economy is single-minded. Corruption appears to be rampant throughout all planetary governments, including the United Nations, China, Japan, and the United States of America. They do not even have a stable ruling planetary force. And yet..." TOMORO-0117 trailed off.

"And yet for all their insanity, they are still able to produce heroes." J sighed. "I do not believe we will ever understand humans."

"Perhaps we would do better to focus our efforts on understanding the subset of humans known as Three G and their immediate support staff?" TOMORO-0117 suggested.

J snorted, "Ha!", put off by the suggestion. "_They_," meaning Three G, "are crazier than any two humans put together."

TOMORO-0117 processed J's observation. After a length of time, he quoted, "Human proverb: Everyone is crazy in some way."

"...That's a human proverb?"

"Yes."

J dismissed the second set of scans from his console. "Then perhaps we should start with a more localized case."

"Oh?'

"Ah."

From a small blue backpack J pulled out a bright red lacquer box decorated along its top with a cartoon star ship sailing among oversized stars. The box gave way with easy simplicity to split into two compartments. Removing the lid from the bottom compartment revealed it to have picked vegetables, slices of baked fish, little sausages shaped to look like octopi, and an orange wedge. The top compartment was revealed to contain thick fried egg slices wrapped in spinach leaves, a cut of beef wrapped in bacon, and the remaining two thirds of the box containing plain white rice.

"Is that lettering again?" TOMORO-0117 inquired.

J used one of the provided chopsticks to poke at the dried seaweed decoratively laid out on top of the rice. "Japanese for 'take care of yourself'."

"Was not yesterday's, 'have a good day'?"

"The day before that was, 'have fun at work'." Having grown proficient with chopsticks, J was able to pick up the sausage octopus without difficulty. "Arma has been receiving a similar lunchbox since the beginning of the school year. The ones for me have been appearing since Monday." Along with the backpack for carrying it and other nicknacks in.

"Possible correlation: Sunday evening was when Renias and yourself brought down a major BioNet laboratory."

That particular take-down had occurred in England. "Was it a significant enough event to be reported on in Japan?"

A pause to check. "Affirmative," TOMORO-0117 reported.

"Hum..."

"Does Aruma's have lettering as well?"

"Yes. This morning it read, 'Good luck on your test'." There had been no concern as to what kind of test the lettering had been referring to. With Arma attending an academic institution, undoubtedly it was a test to gauge his academic aptitude.

"Reports of such actions are common regarding those humans categorized as a mother. From context it appears their actions are received in a similar vein to support wings."

"Support wings?" J echoed, pausing mid bite.

"Speculation: Kaidou Sakura is Arma's mother, a category akin to support wings. Your position in her opinion is as Arma's older brother, or family," which was a concept whose definition they had not, quite, nailed down yet, "thus after hearing the report regarding your actions with Three G, Kaidou Sakura includes you as part of her wings."

"Thus, the packed lunches." J frowned, not at the contents but at the lunchbox in general. "The lunchboxes are available for pickup at five thirty each morning. However, with the exception of a two to three hour window each evening at dinner, Kaidou Sakura does not arrive home until after midnight."

"Which means she must be active before your recharge cycle completes."

And as J's recharge cycle completed no later than five each morning, that left a single conclusion: Kaidou Sakura was active by four each morning, if not sooner. This included the weekends, days J had been informed _should_ have been light duty schedules if anything.

"Such extreme activity does not seem healthy for an elderly human," TOMORO-0117 noted, coming to the same conclusion as J.

"Not our issue," J countered. It would be a shame if anything did happen to her, as her lunchboxes were delicious, but she was not their concern. Perhaps Arma should be notified? If the woman was acting as his support wings – even though she was _not_ – it would be an insult not to let him know.

Any such thoughts were set aside, as was the lunchbox, when the emergency alert indicator illuminated. "BioNet again?" J wondered aloud.

"Incoming emergency transmission from Three G Special Agent Amami Mamoru."

"Latio? What could he-"

"J! Arma's collapsed!"

* * *

ES Missiles were not allowed in atmosphere unless it was a planet-threatening emergency. Arma collapsing was not classified as a planet-threatening emergency for all it felt like one. To add to his frustration, Soldato-J was required to park the J-Ark at G Island bay instead of taking the J-Ark straight to Arma. Something about interfering with air traffic patterns and causing accidents.

None of it mattered. _None_ of it. Arma was in danger, a threat he should have observed well before this had struck, and whatever harm had befallen Arma was all his fault. He had failed... again... and...

Flickers of bright red light leashed by green caught his eye. There, not far now, was Arma. Latio had put a barrier around him; reinforcing that barrier were a group of four human children. The petite dirty blond haired girl appeared to be telling an adult wearing a uniform to back off; her commands were enforced by a large boy who pushed another uniform wearing human away from Arma and Latio. A boy with glasses was holding Latio's Three G pager, while a pink haired girl had a pillow in her hands. She was edging closer to the light show, a cautious centimeter at a time, and... was she trying to put that pillow under Arma's head? That would only make sense if she were trying to comfort him. But... she wasn't part of Arma's support wings. She had no reason to assist. It made no sense...

The large boy saw him first. "Its Soldato-J!" he announced, his voice carrying. "Soldato-J with the Gutsy Galaxy Guard!"

The adult humans stumbled back as he landed; the children showed to be made of sterner stuff and did not withdraw. Quite the opposite: They grinned, excited and relieved by his arrival. The dirty haired blond proclaimed, "I _told_ you Kaidou-kun was an alien. Of course an average human wouldn't know how to help."

"Yeah! Leave it to Mamoru-kun and Three G!" the large boy demanded.

Soldato-J ignored them, focusing on Arma. Latio was deep in trance, attempting to keep Arma's out of control energy from causing harm to himself or others. This close, Soldato-J could feel the flicker-flashes of J-Jewel energy affecting his own J-Jewel. Lost in – whatever this was – Arma was murmuring, striking out at phantoms, crying out a meaningless word, with tears dripping from his eyes. Nothing in his Library matched these conditions... Then again, Arma had been produced in a hurry. Could this be some kind of breakdown?

Since the children seemed to be the only ones with any sort of spine, Soldato-J demanded of them, "What happened?"

"We dunno," the one holding on to Latio's pager admitted.

The dirty haired blond picked up the tale: "We were playing volleyball, and it was Kaidou-kun's turn."

The large boy interrupted to blurt, "And all of a sudden Kaidou-kun grabbed his head! Hana-chan caught him before he could fall down, but then..."

"Then he started flickering," the pink hair girl murmured. "Mamoru-kun grabbed him, and tossed Takayasu-kun his pager," she indicated the boy holding Latio's pager.

"Of course I knew what to do with it! Obviously, we had to call Three G!" The boy was covering up his fear with bluster, declaring, "This thing was easy to figure out."

"Especially since the instructions are on the back," the dirty blond haired girl pointed out. The boy frowned while the larger boy laughed out loud.

The pink haired girl murmured, "Kaidou-kun must really hurt. He's been calling for his mommy..."

"What?" Soldato-J demanded. No warrior of Abel, no matter how wounded, would cry out like an infant. Especially not for some abstract thing like a mother.

"Well, if you felt like you were going to turn into a fireball, wouldn't _you_ call for your mommy, too?" the dirty haired blond demanded.

"That's the other thing Kaidou-kun said when he started flickering!" the large boy confirmed. "He said everything was on fire! Then he started screaming for his mom! Not in the sissy way, either...!"

The more information Soldato-J heard, the less things made sense. The closest Library record TOMORO-0117 had found was in relation to the first Soldato lost in the war. The Soldato had been separated from his Arma; at some point, later verified to be the exact time of the Soldato's death, the Arma had begun crying. It had self terminated two hours later.

"Wait!" the pink hair girl blurted. "Kaidou-kun's like Mamoru-kun, right? They can both sense when bad things are happening?" The girl did not wait for a response before declaring, "Something bad must have happened to Kaidou-kun's mom!"

"Oh _man_," the larger boy hissed.

Impossible. Why would a mother illicit such a reaction? The woman didn't even have a J-Jewel!

_Hana-chan's right._

All eyes turned to Latio. The boy's eyes were scrunched tight in concentration as he put all of his will into the barrier. That he had enough concentration for telepathy bode ill.

_Soldato-J. You've got to find Kaidou-kun's mom. She's in real danger! If we don't find her fast..._

Soldato-J shook his head negative, demanding, "What does a _mother _have to do with this?!"

It was the large boy who broke the echoing silence. "Oh man, big bro was _right_... You really didn't have a mom growing up, did you?"

Which lead back to Soldato-J's immediate question of what did a mother have to do with anything!

The boy with Latio's pager was murmuring to himself as he punched out a code. "Locate... Kaidou-kun's mom... Emergency... grave... danger... Grave danger from what?"

Arma screamed, his power flickering against Latio's barrier. Soldato-J reached without thinking to grab Arma's arm. The J-Jewel in his gauntlet reacted-

Abruptly, he was not in his own body. Fire danced around him, stealing the air from his lungs. In the middle distance he heard an infant screaming. Arma's voice was in his head wailing, "Mama! Don't go! I love you don't go!" The fire sucking the air and life from him and all he could hear was the infant crying, crying – a life to protect, _needing_. The will to _fight_ to protect that dear spark of life.

The brace of wings supporting the J-Ark, allowing it to fly, allowing him to _fight_...!

In the same abrupt manner, Soldato-J was returned to his own body. He was sitting against a wall. Arma's power must have tossed him back... The dirty blond haired girl put her hand on his shoulder, as if checking to see he was alive. The large boy was holding a dripping bucket in both hands. The contents of said bucket, Soldato-J realized, had been splashed over his face.

"You put a dent in the wall," the boy reported.

"Whatever's happening is getting worse, isn't it?" the girl asked.

"She was right." The children blinked at Soldato-J's statement. He tipped his head towards the pink haired girl. "She was right. Arma's mother is dying. All of his power. All of his will. He's focusing it towards her, trying to save her."

And doing so was killing him.

But then, would Soldato-J not have offered his own life to protect his wings?

"J!" TOMORO-0117's voice was as loud as it was welcome. "Kaidou Sakura works in the automated factory district. One third of the district is currently a large fireball. HyoRyuu and EnRyuu have been dispatched to attempt to quell the blaze. Evacuation is incomplete."

"Stay with him," Soldato-J ordered the children.

"Um, duh?" The dirty blond haired girl slapped her hand on his shoulder as one Three G comrade might to another. "Of _course_ we're going to stay with Kaidou-kun! He's our friend!"

"What, do we look like the kind of idiots who'd leave our friend in a bind?" the large boy demanded.

"My apologies. All humans look alike to me."

The girl's petite, "Apology accepted," was swallowed by the soda sky.

A moment to orient himself... There. A tower of smoke, a knife in the sky. It was at a not insignificant distance from the city itself. Three G ground forces would be dispatched in addition to the city's rescue response team. He'd run a practice drill with them, once. They at least knew what they were doing even if they were under equipped by Red Planet standards.

Calling one third of the district a fireball was not an inaccurate statement. HyoRyu and EnRyu were easy to spot, marching towards the heart of the blaze. A GunGrue model helicopter was in the air attempting to locate victims.

But they weren't going to find Arma's wings in time.

The helicopter's hatch popped open. Renais stood in the pilot's seat. She did not bother to yell across the smokey expanse, instead switching to a radio burst across all Three G frequencies. Such a blast was louder than a yell; which had probably been her intent. "J! What the _enfer_! Is Arma alright?"

"Kaidou Sakura is trapped. Her injuries are severe. Arma is attempting to use his powers to protect her, but at this distance his attempts are causing a psychic backlash."

"So if she dies, he dies?" Renais summed up the situation. At Soldato-J's sharp affirmative, Renais cursed. "Not going to happen!"

"Did Special Agent Arma have a fix on Mrs. Kaidou's location?" HyoRyu inquired.

"Not one he could verbalize." Soldato-J took stock of the burning expanse. The automated factory district was huge, at least in so far as looking for a single individual. Even as little as a third of it still took up two thousand square kilometers. A search could take hours... Hours Kaidou Sakura – Arma – did not have.

_Mama! Mama, don't go! Don't leave me!_

Arma...

Following the screams across the sky was akin to hearing a phoenix in its death throws. The Blue Planet's myth of the firebird was accurate, up to a point: A phoenix was always reborn through flames, yes. But a phoenix taken by Death prematurely could never be reborn. And it was not Kaidou Sakura's time. It was not Arma's time. For Death to come so soon...

"We've got lifesign readings, directly below!" Renais's voice snapped Soldato-J from his grim woolgathering.

_Mama!_

"Its her!"

Soldato-J plunged into the inferno. A second behind him was the hiss/snap of Renais's cold coat kicking into overdrive. The building's exterior was pockmarked with explosions from machinery inside overheating. Soldato-J thought he heard Renais demand, "Who in their right goddamn mind chains an emergency exit shut?" as he cut what used to be a door in half.

_Mama!_

"Sakura!" Soldato-J roared. The J-Jewel carried his voice over the flames, making them clear to his target's hearing. As clear as radio signals were to his receiver. "Kaidou Sakura!"

A voice, faint and further back, coughed with its last strength, "H-Here...!"

He found the old woman with an aluminum blanket – not a cold blanket, a normal blanket – being used as a desperate heat shield. Wrapped in her arms was a wailing child, barely older than two years of age. Renais's cold coat was shutting down the fire as she went, but there was too much fuel, and not enough freeze.

"J, fuel tanks!"

Soldato-J looked towards where Renais was pointing. Yes. Yes those were fuel tanks. Liquid nitrogen fuel from what his scans showed him. Each of the seven takes were as tall as J-Der and as big around as an ES Missile. Fuel tanks that had been covered in flame retardant materials. Tanks that had been disguised as harmless machines until the inferno had eaten away their last defenses.

Tanks that were about to blow them all to the Endless Void in about three seconds.

"Shimatta!" Soldato-J remembered someone saying. Maybe it had been him. He remembered getting to Kaidou Sakura, his hand grabbing her shoulder-

"_**Protecto Shade!**_"

And the world went white.

* * *

Three G Orbit Base was a modern marvel, so far as Blue Planet marvels went. Compared to the J-Ark it was as sophisticated as a radio controlled sail boat. But it had a state-of-the-art human medical center which was difficult for members of the press to access. The latter was a major concern in the aftermath of the factory fireball. Doubly so when Kaidou Sakura's bravery leaked to the press.

As Three G Commander Taiga Koutaro had said, "Discovery of illegal arms manufacturing, clandestine spy work, rescuing a child from a life of slavery~! Mystery, courage, and a dash of danger. It makes a tantalizing tale. I only wonder at the fact the paparazzi haven't managed sneak in with the tour groups yet."

TOMORO-0117 watched as the old woman recovered. Humans were not durable lifeforms. So easily... broken. It was disquieting to watch the video feed to her room and have no access to her vital readings. TOMORO-0117 could read Renais's vital readings as she was a cyborg. Monitoring J was a given. Even Arma's vitals, within a limited extent, were open for TOMORO-0117 to process thanks to the J-Jewel.

But Kaidou Skaura was... distant. As unreadable to TOMORO-0117 as the printed word to an ant. The knowledge that he was powerless was unsettling. He who was the mind and heart of the universe's most powerful battleship, the pride of the Red Planet – powerless. The concept clogged his processors.

Volfogg was requesting data transmission access.

"What is it?" TOMORO-0117 inquired. Three G may be allies, but only an idiot would download software upgrades without first checking their contents. Especially whenever those female _things_ were in scanning distance.

"Entouji-san noticed your processing speed has fallen point zero five percent. He presumed you were attempting to decode the vital sign monitoring network in the intensive care unit."

If AIs could blush from embarrassment, TOMORO-0117 would have been tomato red. "I have made no hacking attempts," TOMORO-0117 reported instead.

"Which is why Entouji-san created this program for you." Volfogg highlighted key coding segments.

"A translation program?"

"For human vital signs. The J-Ark's prodigious sensors in conjunction with this program would, in theory, allow you to locate victims otherwise undetectable to ground units." There was the faintest hint of a smile. "The code at the end is the access code to the intensive care unit monitoring system."

"...Thank you, Volfogg."

The software took milliseconds to boot up. Access to the intensive care unit took half the time. Pecking through the information, TOMORO-0117 frowned. It had been too close. Had GaoFighGar been even as little as a tenth of a second slower in deploying the Phantom Shade shield, the woman would be dead.

TOMORO-0117 was unsure how he felt about it. About the possibility of the woman's early demise. It was clear (now, at least) Arma had categorized her as his wing support. The term when translated into Japanese, or English, or any other language of the Blue Planet, lost much of its definition. In simple terms, Kaidou Sakura was the necessary support crew which allowed Arma to act.

There was activity in the woman's room. A reporter?

No. Only an agitated Arma. An agitated Arma who was... Oh dear.

"J. You had best return to Kaidou Sakura's room. ...and bring Renais or the cyborg."

With a hint of guilt, TOMORO-0117 flicked the "mute button" – so to speak – off and began recording. Sound resumed with crystal clarity.

Arma was yelling, "You won't go back to work!"

"I won't go back to work there," Kaidou Sakura agreed, referencing her position in the gutted factory. Her voice did not raise above conversational levels, and her features were a mix between stoic and a smile.

"You won't go back to work, period!"

"I'm sorry, Ikumi, but yes. I will go back to work."

"No you won't!"

"Ikumi."

"If you have to work just keep your night job! Just don't work two jobs! Just don't kill yourself because of me!" The old woman did not flinch at the crystal red snap of energy from Arma. A breath to regain his control. "Its killing you," Arma murmured. TOMORO-0117 had to turn up the sound to catch his words. "Doing this. Doing everything. Its killing you. ...I'm killing you."

"Kaidou Ikumi Arma!"

Outside the door, J jerked to a halt. TOMORO-0117 felt his functions jolt back to a semblance of normal. The last time either one of them had heard that particular tone had been from the Soldato Division's commander ripping into a subordinate for transporting an ES Mine, by hand, on the ground, in active mode.

"Don't ever think that, Ikumi. Don't you ever! I would have been dead eight years ago if not for you. You, are the only reason I found the strength to keep living after..." Kaidou Sakura's voice choked off; her vitals fluctuated to a dangerous degree. The shift in her vital signs was not reflected in her voice when she continued. "I went to that mountain to die, Ikumi. And you saved me. Don't ever – ever! – think otherwise!

"If a little discomfort is what I must bare to be a good mother, and to provide what you _need_, and if I can, what you _want_. Then for you, I would bare that discomfort. Because I love you, my beautiful angel. My gift from heaven. My beloved Ikumi-kun."

"...mama..."

Kaidou Sakura opened her arms. Thus cued, Arma tackled her. The room microphone adjusted automatically so that Arma's cry did not damage the audio recording.

TOMORO-0117 amended the short dossier he had complied on Kaidou Sakura. She was _not_ Arma's support wing.

Kaidou Sakura was a Soldato.

* * *

Renais none too gently pulled Soldato-J's hand off the door handle. Then, when he did not move of his own accord, Renais put one hand around the base of the back of his neck and shoved. The heat of her hand more so than the force of her hand against his neck caused Soldato-J to start walking away from the door.

"I don't think we should have heard that," Renais muttered, more to herself than to Soldato-J.

Soldato-J twisted, knocking Renais's arm away. "That woman is _not_ a human."

"Kaidou-kun's mama?"

"Ah. She is a Soldato." With a will such as hers, there was no denying it. Soldato-J bristled when Renais chuckled.

"You don't get it, do you?" the malfunctioning cyborg laughed. "In this battlefield called life, everyone is a Soldato. Why else do you think we put up with you?"

The last had been an attempt at a joke, to soften her statement's blow. It had no effect; Soldato-J felt the reality of the world tilt sideways. Without his helmet, Renais would have seen more than his dropped jaw. While he was still stunned, Renais took his arm in hers and guided him further away from Arma and Kaidou Sakura.

"W-What do you mean?" Soldato-J managed to ask.

Renais shook her head and kept him walking towards main operations. "You're a smart boy. I'm sure you'll figure it out. And if you can't, I'm sure your mama can give you a clue."

"I do not have a," Soldato-J began to counter.

Renais putting a finger over his lips silenced him. "She packs your lunches so you're never hungry. She packs your backpack with everything you might need. I'd bet there's even a change of underwear in there for you. Face it, J. Kaidou-kun's mom adopted you."

"Why...?"

"Because you're family," Renais replied as though this abstract term explained everything. In reality, it explained nothing.

When Soldato-J said as much, Renais changed course so that they were standing on the observation deck overlooking Base Tower's central park. Below Three G members were hosting miniature picnics on the grass, sitting alongside the bushes and trees which kept the space station's air fresh enough to live in.

"Family," Renais cut him off again before he could speak, "on this big blue marble comes in three type. There's your family of co-workers, like you find in Three G," she gestured to the picnicking groups. "There's your family of friends – hi, Mikoto!"

Across the divide, the cyborg's primary wing support waved back with equal vigor.

"And then, there's family. The people who raised you. Who gave you their name so you would always be supported. Your mama and your papa."

"You mean support wings."

"Support wings?"

Soldato-J repeated the term in its proper tongue before explaining, "The closest Earth translation is support wings. Those who brace your wings so that you can fly."

"Hum... Those sound more like work-family or friends-family than _family_. Mama and papa are people who tell the world," her tone took on a dramatic darkening and she wagged her finger in his face, "You wanna mess with my kid you gotta go through me! Of course," she sighed, turning on one heel to put her back to him, "they don't always do it right. Sometimes the world 's just too cruel. But they try. Even when its hard. Even when it hurts.

"Work-family and friend-family take over when a kid's old enough to leave their parents' protection. Most humans form friend-families while they're still in school. Work-families start to grown when you, you know, have a job. None of them are perfect. And they can fail. But that's life!" Renais giggled, twisting back to look at him again. "Life is a giant battlefield; a huge fight that doesn't end until you're dead. Family can support you in that battle, provide fallback positions and rally points. But the only person who can _win_, who can _fight.._."

"Are those who live," Soldato-J whispered.

Renais winked. "Bingo."

Soldato. Those who fight. Those who _live_, no matter the odds, no matter the sacrifice. A whole planet full of them...

Renais took his arm back in hers. Without a sound, Soldato-J followed where she lead.

* * *

_TOMORO-0117._

Roused from sleep cycle, TOMORO-0117 acknowledged. Following the communication back to its origin point TOMORO-0117 found Arma was sitting in the domicile's living room. There was an access point in that room shaped as a fist sized marble atop a pyramid dais. Arma was focusing his telepathy through the access point. A way of communication which was undetectable. Soldato Kaidou Sakura was sitting next to him; J was in maintenance mode, a deeper state than sleep mode, thus oblivious to this exchange.

_Mama wants to get J a present. A thank you, for saving her._

"Such would be unnecessary."

_Not for mama._ Arma paused. _Keep it a secret._

"Acknowledged."

_You have J's measurements, right?_

"His... measurements?"

_Height, arm length, leg length... foot size._

"...Foot size?"

_Mama noticed J doesn't have any cloths, except for his armor. She thought he..._ Arma stopped; sighed. _Its a human thing_, he said at last.

That had become code for, "I could explain but it would be embarrassing." Perhaps Renais would be able to enlighten him. After this event, of course.

"Transmitting data."

Soldato Kaidou Sakura had been standing by with a notebook. As the data was transmitted, she began writing down key bits. At points she manipulated the data flow by poking the interface with her index finger, running it back or forward to catch specific details. Once she had all of the data she required, Soldato Kaidou Sakura tapped the display.

Voice soft (to not disturb J's rest, TOMORO-0117 assumed) Soldato Kaidou Sakura whispered, "Thank you, TOMORO-kun."

What a strange human/Soldato... Well. At least she had made a full recovery.

"TOMORO."

If it had been physically possible, TOMORO-0117 would have jumped. J was at the access terminal now. And he did not look amused.

"Yes, J?"

"Soldato Kaidou was required by the healers to rest for another three days before returning to work. Where is she?"

"She departed with Arma."

"Departed where?"

TOMORO-0117 would have gulped if he could have. "Unknown."

"...She went to work last night."

"Oh?" TOMORO-0117 inquired. J glared at him, the expression fiercer without his helmet. Which was contradictory. "J. Why are you worried? Surely Kaidou Sakura, being a Soldato, acknowledges her own limitations and will work within them. To cause herself permanent harm would be counterproductive to her mission."

That mission, they had determined, was to assist Arma in all situations both offensively as a Soldato and defensively as support wings, until such time Arma was old enough (by Blue Planet reckoning) to support himself. Even then, Soldato Kaidou Sakura would remain as auxiliary support wings. That was a mother's duty. A strange mission... but a Soldato could not choose their own path. If such was her duty, then it was to her honor for Soldato Kaidou Sakura to take on such diametrically opposed roles.

"Arma believes she is exceeding her safety limits." J frowned as he added, "I concur. And the one reason a Soldato would do so-"

"Would be if there were sufficient danger to justify the risk."

But what danger could there be? This domicile was safe, the neighborhood was crime free – with the exception of adolescents who did not know better. J had... suggested, at sword point, that they find a different vocation than defacing private and/or public property. To date, the suggestion had stuck. But outside of those gentlemen there was no immediate risk.

"Well clearly she's worried about being able to provide for Kaidou-kun," the French AIs delightfully chimed in.

"_Argh!_ This is a secure channel! Get your sorry excuses for processors out of my files!"

"If it were a secure channel, you wouldn't have left a back door, nee?" KouRyu giggled, blowing the digital equivalent of a raspberry.

"I will shoot you to Pluto!"

"Wait." J ordered. Discipline held, and TOMORO-0117 deactivated his ES Missile targeting array. For now. "AnRyu, KouRyu," J spoke to the two French dragons, "explain."

AnRyu politely but firmly shoved her sister to the background before the pink terror could yammer away. "We've noticed that you do not go out much, Soldato-J 002, which – or at least I assume – means you have not had much interaction with the economy. Goods and services, naturally, are exchanged for yen."

"At least in Japan its yen. In France and the European Union, the currency is called the euro," KouRyu added in her ever chipper voice.

"One of the most labor intensive services is the building of a house," AnRyu continued as though there had been no interruption. "As such it costs a significant amount of yen to purchase a home. Currently, the Kaidou residence is estimated at a value of six hundred fifty thousand yen. In comparison, Three G spends forty thousand yen for one GunDober non-GS Ride class motorcycle. The expense of a house is much too difficult for a single family unit to afford which is where mortgages come in."

"They're complicated and we can ignore 'em because Kaidou-san doesn't have one!"

"KouRyu!" AnRyu censured her twin.

"What? TOM-chan and J-kun weren't the only ones worried about Kaidou-kun, so of _course_ I ran a background on Kaidou-san. Just... you know... to make sure they were okay."

"Hacking, then... I'll have to report you to Volfogg, you know."

"It was worth it," KouRyu pouted. "Because I found out why Kaidou-san's so worried!"

When the French AI went silent for far too long, J did not scold TOMORO-0117 when the AI (metaphorically) wrapped his fingers around KouRyu's neck and started shaking. "_Why?!_" he demanded.

"Her current income is roughly fifteen hundred thousand yen per month, before taxes. Electricity, water, sewage, land tax, groceries, transportation, incidentals – like clothing! And shoes! You can't go anywhere in public without a good pair of shoes! – _and_ Kaidou-kun's school tuition come to an estimated two hundred thousand five hundred yen per month. Give or take a few rounding errors. Oh," KouRyu added this as though it were an afterthought, "that was all estimated _before_ J-kun moved in. So its probably gone up, though not by much because TOM-chan handles ninety percent of J-kun's maintenance."

"Which means?" J demanded when no further explanation was forthcoming.

AnRyu answered: "Think of a household as a ship which will sink if it falls below one kilometer an hour, and yen as fuel. With her current income, Kaidou-san is unable to refuel at a sufficient rate to keep the ship at a speed of point five kilometer per hour, much less one kilometer per hour."

Both TOMORO-0117 and J lapsed into silence, mulling over this new information.

KouRyu tentatively broke the silence. "You know... its not your responsibility. No matter what happens to Kaidou-san, Kaidou-kun's gonna be OK. Its not like you asked her to adopt you or anything, and you sure don't owe her anything."

"KouRyu," AnRyu hissed.

"Well its true!" KouRyu whimpered.

"Family supports one another, takes care of one another, as best they can. You know that," AnRyu sighed.

"But J-kun and TOM-chan _aren't_ Kaidou-san's family!" KouRyu countered. Looking at the male duo, she asked, "Right?"

Six months ago when J had moved into the Kaidou domicile, TOMORO-0117 knew what his answer would have been. Now, after what they had learned about the Blue Planet... Now, TOMORO-0117 was not so sure.

* * *

The cyborg – Guy – arrived carrying a picnic basket. Why he felt the need to bring a picnic basket was, Soldato-J was sure, a mystery of the universe which was unlikely to ever be solved. Regardless, Guy put the basket where Soldato-J could comfortably reach it, and its contents, then took a seat for himself. The chairs in this particular lunch/conference room were not all that uncomfortable. Soldato-J had sat through three hour meetings in these chairs. But now, he was biting down on the urge to squirm. This would have been easier had Guy been a Soldato...

Their battles, both as enemies and allies, had proven their ideals were too far apart. The cyborg – Guy was a warrior, yes. But not a Soldato. A fine distinction, but a distinction nonetheless.

But still... but still...!

The cyborg Guy withdrew a clear brown glass bottle. The label declared it to be a "Sapporo", bright red lettering against a stylized lion's head. Of course there would be lions. The cyborg Guy seemed to breath lions. And Guy was handing the bottle to Soldato-J while pulling out a second bottle.

"Whenever dad and I would sit down for a serious man to man discussion, we'd have a bear. Since you sounded so serious over the phone... Well."

Soldato-J hesitated a moment. Then, with a sigh, grabbed the bottle. Tradition was tradition after all... At least the brew tasted good.

"So," Guy prompted when Soldato-J remained quiet.

"I have a... question."

"Ah?"

Soldato-J looked down at the bottle in his hands, at the liquid sloshing inside. A tempest in a beer bottle. A miniature match to the conflicting emotions he was feeling. The cyborg showed significant intelligence by remaining quiet.

"How do you know... if you are family?"

"Hum." Guy leaned back in his chair, almost far enough back for the hinges to squeak in protest. He took a slow, steady pull from his drink. "I head about the trouble Kaidou-san is in from Volfogg. He's been keeping an eye on her and Kaidou-kun – as a precautionary measure!" Guy quickly added when Soldato-J's spine stiffened. "Terrorist organizations like BioNet are salivating over a chance to vivisect Kaidou-kun and Mamoru. They're not above kidnapping Kaidou-kun and Mamoru's parents to get to them. That's why we _have_ to monitor them _and_ their families."

Grim, Soldato-J forced himself to relax.

"It feels like a fight, doesn't it?"

"What?" Soldato-J demanded.

Guy set his beer on the table. "That feeling. Just now. It feels like a fight. Like your Regenerating Armor is down to zero, J-Jewel generator at five percent output, and you're ten seconds from hitting atmo at the wrong angle. When you found out they were in danger, that Kaidou-kun and his mama were in trouble... it felt like you just stepped into a fight. Didn't it?"

"...Ah," Soldato-J admitted. Then to keep himself from saying anything else, he took a sip of beer.

"That's how you know you're family."

The swallow of beer went down wrong. A few coughing seconds to clear his lungs of foreign fluid, Soldato-J managed, "Its my duty to protect them!"

"_Them_," Guy repeated, stressing the word.

Soldato-J was about to bark, "Yes, _them_," when his own words processed and he felt cognitive functions cease.

A Soldato's duty is to protect their Arma unit. There was only one Arma. To classify a plurality under his protection was an inaccurate statement.

"...I want to protect them both," Soldato-J admitted, both aloud and to himself.

Guy nodded. "They're your family."

Soldato-J _looked_ at the cyborg. "That is why you fought so hard? Why you kept me from completing my mission?"

"Why I kept you from completing it alone, you mean," Guy corrected him. "You bet it is! If I had let you fight alone, and you had fallen, Mikoto, dad, my family would be the next to die. Like hell I was going to allow that!"

"Family... means a great deal."

"Yeah. Yeah, it does. J." Guy paused until he was sure he had Soldato-J's attention. "Not everyone holds family as that important. There are some people who set family aside for whatever reason. But... I don't think you're the kind of person who would do that."

"I don't even know how...!" The beer bottle glass gave an ominous crack. "Kaidou Sakura is killing herself and I don't even know how...!"

"What?"

"She's overworking herself. The medical team said she needed to rest for another three days, but she's already gone back to work. And I don't even know how to... to...!"

Guy said, "Its a battle you don't know how to fight."

Not trusting himself to speak without screaming, Soldato-J nodded a sharp affirmative.

"If something like that were to happen on the Red Planet, what would you do?"

Having been born knowing how to fight in all battlefields, land, sea, air, and space, the hypothetical question was an impossible one. Then again, so to had been the concept of the Red Planet being mechanized.

"I would... check with my support wings."

"Support wings...? Oh, Renais told me about that. So," Guy placed his hand on Soldato-J's, both to affirm he was there and to try and rescue the beer, "support wings present. Let's figure out how to win this battle." A pause. "What?"

Soldato-J chuckled; it was the best he could do to keep from laughing. "You're a warrior! A warrior cannot be support wings!"

"Why not?" Guy demanded. Without realizing he sounded as though he were saying, "Why can't fire be wet?"

"Support wings cannot fight."

"Why not?"

"Because they are _support_ wings." Clearly, the language barrier was an issue. Considering a different approach, Soldato-J stated, "Your support wings, the human woman."

"Mikoto?"

"Ah. She cannot fight. She is support wings, not a warrior, thus she cannot fight."

Guy was looking at him as though Soldato-J had said fire _could_ be wet. And then he confirmed it by saying, "Actually, she can fight. Not on the same level as you or I, but in a fair fight, Mikoto could knock either one of us unconscious."

At first Soldato-J thought it was a joke. When the cyborg did not start laughing, Soldat-J stared at him. "But she's support wings!"

"Oh boy... Hold on a minute," Guy requested, pulling out his Three G pager.

"What are you...?" Soldato-J began to ask.

Guy interrupted him by saying, "Just... wait a minute. She says she's on her way."

In five minutes, the human woman Mikoto had arrived. In addition to her Three G uniform, she had wrapped boxers' tape around her hands and wrists. It was a trick Soldato-J had seen other Three G members use when exercising; the tape helped stabilize and protect their weak joints from injury.

"Guy, he really...?" Mikoto started to ask, pointing towards Soldato-J.

"Yep." Guy looked to Soldato-J. "Try and punch Mikoto."

"...What?" Soldato-J demanded.

"Pretend she's Renais and try and punch her," Guy repeated.

Soldato-J looked from the woman back to the cyborg and wondered what short circuit had caused this madness. "I have no reason to kill your support wings, cyborg, and won't be party to a suicide attempt."

He got as far as saying, "support wings," when the woman's fist impacted his face. Startled, Soldato-J reacted out of instinct: He kicked forward to force his assailant back, then rolled from the chair to gain additional room to maneuver. Distance gained, Soldato-J lunged towards his attacker.

The woman grabbed him by his wrist, arresting his punch. Using his momentum to her advantage, the woman tossed him over her shoulder. Soldato-J landed with a thump on his face.

And then woman had her knee in the small of his back and a familiar green knife against his throat before Soldato-J could process that, yes, he had been bested.

"Gutsy Galaxy Guard regulations Article two section four B," the woman quoted. "All Three G personnel irregardless of their position will undergo mandatory self defense and hand-to-hand combat training. Three G cannot protect the Earth if we can't even protect ourselves!"

"Y-Your support wings can fight?!" Soldato-J sputtered.

Guy leaned down from his chair to get a better look at Soldato-J. "I think the bigger question, J, is why couldn't yours?"

Having no answer, Soldato-J remained silent even when the woman – no, when Mikoto offered to help him back up to his feet. She even went so far as to brush imaginary dust from his shoulder guards.

"Maa, maa, J-san!" Mikoto laughed at his stunned demeanor. "On our Blue Planet, warriors and support wings are one in the same."

"And so its not... dishonorable... for a warrior to soil their hands with...?" Soldato-J trailed off.

"Menial labor? Hard work? General maintenance? Helping one another?" Guy offered.

"Ab-so-lute-ly not!" Mikoto affirmed, enunciating each syllable for extra emphasis.

Soldato-J found enough sanity to snort back laughter. Every time he thought he understood this backwaters mudball, its culture threw him another – what was the Earth phrase? A curve ball?

"So!" Mikoto helped herself to one of the beers remaining in the picnic basket. Taking a seat, she pulled out a notebook and pen from her shorts pocket. "Enough distractions! Let's get down to planning Operation: Help Kaidou-san."

When the two of them looked at him, Soldato-J stared back. Then, with a sigh – planning a campaign had been what he'd come for, after all – Soldato-J retook his seat. "And I suppose," he said, because he couldn't help asking, "humans have these types of planning sessions often."

"Well, that depends," Mikoto cheerfully answered. "I plan my yearly budget out on January 1st, and have quarterly adjustments as necessary. Guy," and she pointed at the cyborg with her pen, "has the Three G accountants handle his funds."

"Its an option for Three G members who live up here at Orbit Base," Guy confirmed. "Yah know, I think they're handling your paycheck, too."

"Paycheck?"

"Ah. ...Wait." Guy leaned forward. "You... have been getting your pay stubs, right? They're little slips of paper, about this big," he outlined their size with both thumbs and forefingers, "should be delivered to you each month. Tell you what your pay rate is, how much you made, where the funds have been deposited, that sort of stuff. Usually delivered in an envelope with your name on it."

Soldato-J thought back through the past months. "I don't... think I have."

"_Mou_!" Mikoto grumbled. "Then we need to make a trip down to Accounting Department right after this. Once you've got an idea of what your income is, we can better determine how much you'd like to put towards the Kaidou household general funds."

"If Kaidou-san will even let you," Guy added. "If she's anything like my grandmother was, she probably wouldn't ask for rent, even from family, even _if_ she knew what your budget was."

"In that case we had better make two Operation plans: One without J paying any type of rent, and one with. The latter we'd have to work out later, once we find out exactly what Accounting has been doing with your paycheck."

"Why would I even receive a … paycheck?"

Soldato-J's question was met with Guy and Mikoto both slamming their fists on the table. In unison they rose to their feet and proclaimed, "Because you're a member of Three G!"

"Every member of society, from kids doing their homework," Guy began, fist shaking.

"To adults working full time jobs," Mikoto cut in.

"Everyone gets rewarded for the effort they put into their job! And the effort they put in... Its not only returned with riches which can't be calculated, like friends and fond memories!"

"Its also returned as money, which is used towards physical goods and services! Money is used to gauge the worth of goods and services so that there's no arguments about what people, places, and things are worth! Its not perfect."

"It never will be perfect."

"But its what society uses to determine the value of material things."

"And if you haven't been getting a paycheck!"

"Then that's a break of society's contract to itself!"

The duo concluded, "Its injustice!"

Leaning back as far as he could, Soldato-J was sorry he had asked.

"So!" Guy retook his seat. "Let's tackle this Operation planning with how things stand now."

"And then," Mikoto retook her seat as well, "we'll deal with Accounting."

"..._Hai_." Soldato-J managed to say instead of whimper.

* * *

An hour and a half later, Soldato-J had a better idea of the battlefield's current situation. He pointed to a line on Mikoto's spreadsheet labeled _household income_. "So then, this is the weakest point."

"When keeping all other factors constant, looks like," Guy concurred.

"Kaidou-san was keeping her weak-point covered by having two jobs. She's probably looking for a second job now, since her day job went up in smoke," Mikoto hypothesized.

"If I do have a... paycheck-" Soldato-J began.

"Of course you do!" Mikoto interrupted. "We just don't know how much it is."

Soldato-J continued, "Once we know how much my... paycheck... is, a second job may become unnecessary." Which would reduce the strain Soldato Kaidou was under significantly.

"J, Kaidou-san might not _let_ you cover her flank," Guy pointed out. "She might see any offers to help as an insult; as saying she can't take care of her children."

Mikoto concurred. "We may have to take a different approach. Like helping Kaidou-san find a job with a sufficient income to make have two jobs unnecessary."

"Similar to scouting the field?" Soldato-J clarified.

"Exactly so!" Mikoto confirmed. "She'd still have to apply and interview for the position herself. But we could at least look – Oh! We could check what positions are open right now in Three G!"

The conference room door slammed open. "J!" Renais's voice echoed in the silence of her entrance.

"Renais!" Guy gasped, rising to his feet. It was an understandable reaction: Renais was so angry she was steaming, her cold coat working on overdrive in an effort to keep her cloths from catching on fire.

And when Mikoto demanded, "What's wrong?" Soldato-J realized it was not anger her vivid face expressed, but a combination of furry and deep concern.

"What's wrong is I've been looking all over for you for the past half hour! Do you –ooh!" Steam hissed as her cooling coat triggered a frost. "Here, it'll be faster if I show you."

Without waiting, Renais slipped a diskette into table's interface. The room darkened and the main monitor switched on. The recording was not from a high quality camera; the details were sufficient, but barely so. Audio was equally grainy, filled with hisses and pops. The room being monitored had three rows of shelves visible; the video quality was insufficient to tell what kind of items were on the shelves. At the head of a row in-between the shelves was an old woman and her younger son. The old woman patted the boy on the head, and then the boy moved off by himself down the aisle.

"Kaidou-san and Kaidou-kun?!" the cyborg identified them.

"Shut up and keep watching," Renais ordered.

Two adults came up to the old woman. "You need to come with us, ma'am," one of them told Soldato Kaidou.

"Excuse me?"

"Its for your own safety," the other adult was saying. "You're in grave danger!"

"From what?"

"That... that thing!" He gestured with one hand down the aisle Arma had disappeared down.

There was an edge in her voice when Soldato Kaido demanded, "Excuse me?"

"He may look like a human boy, but he's not. He's an alien."

"Of course he's an alien." The two men were stunned into stepping back at Soldato Kaidou's statement. "I've known since he was a baby that he wasn't born on Earth. But that matters as much as horse droppings. Ikumi is my son. And for you two busy bodies to act in such a manner... Its infuriating. Good day, gentlemen."

One of the men grabbed her by the arm before Soldato Kaidou could move. _Its only a recording,_ Soldato-J had to remind himself as instinct demanded he step in.

"The alien must have brainwashed her!" the man said to his companion.

"_Ha!_"

The man who had been keeping a hold of her was now shrieking in pain, his hand having been broken by Soldato Kaidou's well aimed counterattack. Thus released, Soldato Kaidou was able to grab the first weapon to hand – an umbrella?

"Look, lady, we're just trying to help!"

"Then help yourselves out of our lives!" Soldato Kaidou ordered. She then proceeded to back up her command by beating both men over top their heads.

As soon as the cowards had bolted off screen, Soldato Kaidou leaned heavily against the umbrella. Then she leaned against the self. And then she collapsed.

"A heart attack?" Mikoto demanded.

Renais ejected the disk; the room's lights returned to normal. "No, just acute exhaustion, according to the hospital. The hospital she is refusing to stay at because God knows why and – J!" Renais grabbed his scarf before Soldato-J could pass her.

"Let go," Soldato-J ordered.

"Major Hyuuma is already on the scene. He and Ikumi-kun sweet talked Kaidou-san into staying at the hospital for at least another hour. That was thirty minutes ago."

"Which is all the more reason why I should go."

"No argument here, but do you have _any_ idea how many more idiots like those guys," she jerked her thumb towards the now dead screen in emphasis, "are going to show up if you charge into a hospital in full armor? The press will have a freakin' holiday, and any prayer of a hope we might have of Kaidou-san having a nice, peaceful recovery at home will be vaporized to light particles. Which is why," Renais cut off whatever Soldato-J might say in counter, "you and I are going to the supply depot _before_ heading to the J-Ark."

"Oh! A Three G uniform as a disguise would work perfectly!" Mikoto readily agreed.

"I don't have time," Soldato-J attempted to growl.

Renais reeled him in with a tug on his scarf. "Its either five minutes at the supply depot, or an eternity of Kaidou-san glaring at you for unleashing the reporters of Hell on her front doorstep."

Soldato-J growled; then, with a hissed, "_Che_," he yielded to necessity.

* * *

A "nice, peaceful recovery" went the way of the Zonders when Soldato-J arrived to find two policemen interrogating Arma and Soldato Kaidou. There were two men in the lobby, both suffering concussions and one with a broken hand. A senior member of Three G was glaring at them while two more policemen conducted interviews. But one of the policemen talking to Soldato Kaidou was pulling out a pair of handcuffs (he recognized them from a movie shown at yet another Three G picnic) and was stepping forward to put them around Soldato Kaidou's wrists.

Admittedly, his entrance screaming, "_Get away from my mother!_" did not help matters.

Arma gaped at him while Soldato Kaidou gasped.

The policeman showed he had spine. "I'm sorry, sir, but your mother admitted to assaulting two men."

Renais put her hand on Soldato-J's shoulder before he could be charged with assault and battery. "Guard the flank," she ordered just below normal hearing. She pushed past him into the room and flashed her identification card. Humans seemed to love their bits of plastic... They'd even made one of those cards for him.

"Gentlemen," Renais was saying as she put herself between the police and Soldato Kaidou. Following her example Soldato-J moved to stand near Arma and Soldato Kaidou. There were windows right behind them. Twenty seconds would be all it would take for TOMORO-0117 to lock on to their coordinates, generate an ES Window, and for them to escape.

"Gentlemen," Renais said again. "Kaidou Sakura-san is an esteemed member in good standing with the Gutsy Galaxy Guard, a model citizen, and honorable mother. Have you even bothered to check and see if it was self defense?"

"She broke a man's hand," the policeman with the handcuffs repeated.

"He was trying to break her arm," Arma countered. This time it was Soldato-J's turn to stop an attempted assault. Squeezing Arma's shoulder slightly, Soldato-J tried to convey a faith that everything was going to be fine. A difficult thing to do when he felt no such assurance himself.

"She made no mention of that," the policeman's partner snapped.

Major Hyuuma made his presence felt by stomping into the room. A communicator was in his fist; it promptly imploded. "Because! What mother ever wants to have lizard men reporters coming after her babies?! Huh?!"

"I'm sorry, sir?" The policeman with the handcuffs had not put them up, yet.

Major Hyuuma shut the door so hard it vibrated. "Gentlemen. This counts as classified information. If Three G finds out you leaked any of this, you will _wish_ you were dead." The burly human pointed to Arma and Soldato-J. "Those two are aliens. And members of Three G's J-Ark rapid deployment unit!"

"Major Hyuuma!" Soldato Kaidou protested.

"Kaidou-san found them when their ship crashed on Earth. She adopted them without hesitation! Rescued them from certain death! And protected them from those idiots outside at risk to her own health and well being! And in exchange! Those two _saved the damn universe!_" Major Hyuuma leaned in close, invading both policemen's personal space. "Of _course_ she's not gonna tell you _why_ she defended herself. Those two idiots are alien hunters! They get arrested, and they'll go squawking to the press." The man's voice pitched higher, "Oh dear we have to go to the press to warn them all about the brainwashing aliens~!" Then switched back to his normal tone with an audible thud, "_You think she's gonna let that happen?!_"

The policeman with the handcuffs looked, not at Soldato-J and Arma, but at Soldato Kaidou. "Is that true, ma'am?"

Soldato Kaidou did not answer aloud. Instead she nodded, once.

The policeman snapped to attention and saluted. With crisp precision, he lowered his salute, bowed, and – dragging his partner after him – quit the room.

A moment later Renais smirked. "They're telling the idiots to get lost, and to be grateful the sweet little old lady really is so sweet as to not press charges."

Battle won, then. Or at least this battle. Soldato-J allowed himself to relax a fraction. Then he tensed all over again when Renais noted, "Guh. White and orange are _not_ your colors, J. They clash with your hair."

Major Hyuuman reached down next to the bed and pulled up three, maybe four different bags. "I think his mother has his wardrobe covered, Renais."

"How'd you even know his size?" Reanis asked Soldato Kaidou and Arma.

"We guessed," Arma shrugged.

Renais took the bags from Hyuuma. Walking around to them, she ordered, "Well, take these," and shoved them into Arma's arms, "and take him," then tugged on J's sleeve, "and go see if you two guessed right. Like, right now, before the angry doctor storming down the hallway tosses us all out of here."

Arma looked at her; the J-Jewel hidden under the (annoying) shirt's long sleeves flickered, a reaction to the fraction of psychic power Arma was using. Whatever he saw of Renais's thoughts was sufficient. Arma nodded, once, then took the bags in one hand and Soldato-J's own hand in the other. Soldato-J opened his mouth to protest; shut it, when Arma _yanked_, on more than just his hand. The J-Jewel itself reacted to his tug. Tight lipped, Soldato-J followed Arma out of the room.

_Don't talk. Not yet,_ Arma ordered. Soldato-J held his peace and followed.

The public bathroom had three stalls. Arma all but shoved Soldato-J into the last and largest one, then slid the bolt behind them. It was a pathetic lock sufficient only to keep the inattentive from walking in. Arma lined four of the bags up against the far wall. The fifth one he handed to Soldato-J.

"Shirts. Try them on."

"Ah." Soldato-J slipped out of the on-loan vest and shirt; set both aside without much thought or care.

_Renais and Hyuuma have a plan_.

_So I assumed, when you allowed Renais to dismiss us so easily._ The first t-shirt was blue with a cartoon bear's face on it and lettering reading, "I Love Hugs". Soldato-J felt an eyebrow twitch.

_You called her mama._

_Ah._ The next shirt was long sleeved, dark lime green and navy in color, without any wording.

_...Is she?_

Soldato-J paused. "Arma?"

"I don't know how I feel. About sharing her, I mean. She's my mama... but you'd make a better son."

Soldato-J dismissed the notion, throwing the current shirt over Arma's head to catch his attention. "If I would make the better son, this planet would have self destructed eons ago."

Arma did not chuckle so much as sigh. "I suppose."

_Did you catch what they were planning?_ Soldato-J inquired, correctly assuming Arma would hear his thoughts. There were another three shirts in the bag.

_A bit._

Soldato-J hummed when Arma did not go into detail. "Did you know I get a paycheck?" Arma blinked. Absently, he handed Soldato-J the next bag, this one containing pants. "Ah. The cyborg suggested I ask about rent."

"Mama wouldn't let you pay rent," Arma warned.

"Then that Operation is a bust." Soldato-J looked at the second pair of pants. "I did not think they usually came in bright pink."

"Those are pajama pants. Pajamas are supposed to be silly."

"Is that why your room is covered in teddy bears?"

Arma blushed purple. "I like teddy bears," he grumbled. Walking over to the last bag he pulled out... something, and tossed it at Soldato-J. It... couldn't be a phoenix. Yet that was exactly what the object was: A stuffed toy phoenix. "Mama thought it was cute," Arma explained before Soldato-J could comment.

The Red Planet's last warrior shut his dropped jaw.

There was a knock at the door. "You boys done playing dress-up?" Renais demanded.

"Girls aren't allowed in the men's room!" Arma snapped, sounding both embarrassed and scandalized.

"I'm not a girl, so there." She waited for Arma to quit fuming. "Your mama is checking out. Hyuuma and I are taking her straight home. We're going to put her right into bed, and set up a biolink to TOM-chan in her room so she can't sneak out. And Major Hyuuma is going to be camping in your living room for the next forty eight hours to make damn sure she follows doctor's orders. Which is what either one of you would do if you didn't have school and BioNet to deal with."

Which was true... but Major Hyuuma? Soldato-J and Arma exchanged speaking looks: _Ugh_.

* * *

_One month later_...

There was movement in the kitchen. TOMORO-0117 exited sleep mode to investigate. Current time: 5:30 AM. Whomever was in the kitchen was opening the refrigerator to withdraw last night's leftover rice and three eggs.

"Good morning, Kaidou-san."

Soldato Kaidou Sakura turned on the kitchen lights. As was her habit, she patted the access terminal. "Good morning, TOMORO-kun. I hope I didn't wake you up?"

Any explanations he made about being a computer and thus not requiring sleep had fallen on selectively deaf ears. Soldato Kaidou Sakura understood that TOMORO-0117 did not require sleep, but she also understood he had a sleep mode for de-fragmentation purposes. She also – and this still baffled TOMORO-0117 – continued to treat him as though he were a flesh and blood humanoid and a part of her family unit. TOMORO-0117 was in reality more akin to the family dog... But by this point he had given up trying to understand her logic.

"Not at all," TOMORO-0117 answered her original question. "Inquiry: Your new job starts today?"

"Yes it does. I'm quite excited about it." She paused in preparing J and Arma's lunches. "They're still worried about me, aren't they?"

"I do not believe it would be possible to stop them from worrying," TOMORO-0117 admitted.

Soldato Kaidou Sakura sighed. "I suppose not. I didn't mean to frighten them."

"Collapsing twice after minimum physical excursions did precisely that."

The old woman sighed again, and resumed her cooking. As the chronometer displayed the time as 6:00 AM, she said, "I was thinking this summer we could take a family vacation to Okinawa. There's supposed to be a new amusement park opening. Their headline attraction is a pair of dueling roller coasters. I think its called GaoGaiGar and King J-Der versus Zonder Master. Ikumi-kun might like that."

And J would either die laughing or fry a circuit. "It would be an interesting diversion," TOMORO-0117 said instead.

Soldato Kaidou might have said more, but she was distracted by Arma entering the kitchen. "Good morning, mama, TOMORO."

"Good morning, Ikumi-kun. Would you like anything special in your lunch? I know you have another big test today..."

"No, not really," Arma answered in between searching for his favorite glass. "Your lunches are always perfect anyway. Oh, TOMORO?"

"Yes, Arma?"

"J isn't past due for maintenance, is he? He was snoring so loud last night it woke me up."

J himself butt into the conversation: "A warrior does not snore. And I am not past due on maintenance." That he was wearing the teddy bear pajamas Arma had gotten him did not go unnoticed by TOMORO-0117.

"Good morning, J-san. Would you like anything special in your lunch today?"

"Good morning, mama, and no, thank you."

"The noise was coming from your room, and it sounded like a freight train," Arma countered.

"I do not snore," J responded in kind.

"Would you like toast, cereal, or mizu soup for breakfast?"

"Cereal please, and yes you were snoring."

"The same, please, and no I was not."

Soldato Kaidou Sakura smiled as the two's argument progressed into a mock-battle substituting spoons for swords. "Ah, children," she sighed, he voice picked up only by TOMORO-0117 as the "battle" was in full swing. She sounded content about the volume of chaos in her home. And perhaps as a mother she was content, indeed. If both boys were "playing" (mock-battle counted as playing, didn't it?) then they were both well and happy. Mission accomplished.

By 7:00 AM J departed to deliver Arma to his school. As had become something of a habit, J was now disguising himself by wearing civilian clothing: Jeans, a long sleeved t-shirt, and a baseball cap were his usual ensemble. It was sufficient deterrent to "alien hunters" and the press.

The J-Ark was waiting at the usual rendezvous point at 7:30 AM. This morning, Three G Chief Taiga was going to try and get them to work with another operator. It would be a similar role to the one Mikoto held for Guy: Monitor their status, update them on mission intel, and provide final authorization for tools otherwise deemed too dangerous such as ES Missiles. Their chief operator would also provide final approval for Mega Fusion.

Which was foolish, in both TOMORO-0117 and J's opinions. The J-Ark was not the property of Earth or her people, and _especially_ not the property of their governments. That they felt the need to control everything around them proved how immature humans were as a whole.

"Docking complete," TOMORO-0117 announced. They were even there ten minutes early.

J had completed Equipping his armor as well. "Let's get this over with, then. Open communication with Main Order Room."

"Communication open-bwah?!"

J's jaw was dropped, and TOMORO-0117 had the computer equivalent expression of being gobsmacked. The image which had popped up on screen had not been the Main Order Room as a whole, as it usually was. Instead their signal had been routed to a single terminal.

Where Soldato Kaidou Sakura sat in full Three G uniform trying not to laugh at their stunned looks.

"Let's see now," she said instead, looking off screen. "Main Order Room receiving. Communications check: OK." She then looked back to them. "Good morning, Soldato-J, TOMORO-kun."

"M-Mom...!" It was the closest TOMORO had ever heard J come to a whine. "W-What are you...?"

"Apparently," and she was still trying not to laugh, "the both of you may be good team players, but you're unwilling to listen to instructions. Chief Taiga thought you may be more willing to listen to those instructions if they came from your mother instead of a know-nothing know-it-all." She held up one hand as if to impart a conspiratorial secret. "To be honest, I applied for that office job you pointed out. Chief Taiga came to me directly. I hope my lack of experience won't prove to be a hindrance."

"Communication to Main Order Room command chair coming online," TOMORO-0117 announced before J could ask.

"Explain this!" J boomed when Taiga appeared on screen.

"Its exactly as Kaidou-san said, Soldato-J." Chief Taiga looked grim, and his next words were even more so. "To be frank with you, if we can't find you an operator, the UN is going to force us to kick you out of the Sol system."

Soldato Kaidou Sakura nodded in sad understanding. "I thought so," she sighed. "They are politicians, the ones ultimately held responsible for everything that goes right... and everything that goes wrong. They are intrusted to hold power. If they feel as though they can't hold on to that power, they become... panicky."

Chief Taiga nodded. "Precisely so. And so, we give them the illusion of their maintaining control, while still allowing you the freedom you love and deserve."

Major Hyuuma jumped online without warning. "So now you can stop fretting about your mama having a decent job! Three G's got full dental, medical, and the best pay scale on the planet! 's win-win-win for everybody!"

J's jaw worked for a moment, but no words made their way free. "Alright," he said at great length, doing his best to keep his temper in check. "We will give this... arrangement... a try. For one month. If it does not work out, Chief Taiga, I would _appreciate_ it if Kaidou-san were guaranteed a position of her choosing and transferred there without any... difficulties."

"Done," the chief agreed. "Kaidou-san, if you'd turn your manual to page J-5, I'd like to start today with a practice scramble to Jupiter."

"Roger." And Soldato Kaidou Sakura sounded so happy about it, too.

Arma was going to throw a fit.

* * *

Soldato-J replayed the fight over and over and over again. Each move, each calculation, was called into question. Could he have done this? Should he have done that? Would any action other than the ones he had chose have resulted in a different outcome?

An outcome other than Renais lying on the operating table, her fist centimeters from knocking at Death's door.

A warm hand touching his forearm startled Soldato-J. Called back to the here and now, he found Kaidou Sakura standing next to him, her hand on his forearm. "I've been trying to reach you by radio now for ten minutes," she said, though there was no censure in her voice.

"My apologies, I..." Soldato-J's voice trailed off as his attention returned to the bloody drama unfolding beyond the glass window. Dr. Liger had left his rocket skateboard at the door, and had called in Stallion White to assist. Soldato-J did not know if this development was for better or worse.

"J?"

Distracted, he answered, "Yes?"

"Do you love her?" his foster mother asked.

"Love...?"

Kaidou Sakura put his arm in hers. "Come with me, dear," she half ordered, half requested.

Soldato-J could have remained rooted where he was... but opted instead to follow along. After fifteen minutes of wandering, seemingly without direction, Kaidou Sakura directed him back to the J-Ark. Soldato-J already knew Arma was on the command deck sitting in his access chair. From there Arma had as much control over the J-Ark as Soldato-J did from his console.

"We are ready to depart for a sweep of the inner asteroid field," TOMORO-0117 announced on their arrival.

"Mikoto will be handling operating duties for the rest of today, TOMORO-kun. Please let her know J-san will be off duty for the remainder of the day as well."

"Roger. Transferring command to Arma. Standing by for Main Order Room verification."

The J-Ark had a kitchen. It was small for a ship of the J-Ark's size, and saw little use. At present it made for a nice hideaway; a spot close enough to the action, with a window to gaze upon the stars, but isolated enough it would take an intent pursuer to locate them. It was to this little kitchen Kaidou Sakura guided Soldato-J. Once there she directed him to take a seat, and then busied herself by heating up water for two glasses of tea. Soldato-J usually preferred coffee. Watching the stars wink out as the J-Ark entered ES space, he found tea was not so bad. At least not when mama prepared it.

The stars winked back. Kaidou Sakura asked, "Soldato-J?"

It was with an effort Soldato-J pulled his thoughts back from Earth.

Kaidou Sakura put her hand over his. "J. Do you love her? Renais?"

Soldato-J looked out the window into the forever night sky. "Love is a human emotion, isn't it."

"J. If you are about to tell me you don't know what love is, you may kindly shut up now." The old woman chuckled at his startled expression. "I know you know what love is because you love Ikumi. And you love me. You even love your ship. What I am asking," her warm fingers caught Soldato-J's chin, and gently held him so that he had to meet her eyes, "is if you love Renais."

Soldato-J looked away. "...she is an excellent partner," he hedged. There was more he wished to say, but the words were tangling up in a gravity knot in his stomach.

"I am going to ask you a question, J, and I will expect an honest answer."

"When have I not been honest?" Soldato-J demanded, heat rising in his voice despite himself.

Kaidou Sakura patted his hand again. "Whenever you talk about your feelings, you're rarely honest. At least with yourself." She smiled that particular mother smile which made Soldato-J feel _safe_, no matter the circumstances. "Now. Hypothetical. Renais and yourself are pinned down by enemy fire. There is a distance of ten feet between you. Renais has been incapacitated; for the sake of argument, let's say her cool coat has been damaged, her legs have overheated, and the enemy has her suspended by a chain over a chasm. The enemy has an eight meter diameter energy cannon two hundred meters from you. They have already fired the cannon.

"What do you do?"

Soldato-J ran through the scenario on automatic. If the cannon had already fired, it would be impossible to alter the blast's trajectory. With only ten meters between themselves and the cannon Soldato-J would have two seconds to react. In addition, the cannon being eight meters in diameter meant the blast size would prohibit them both from escaping.

The calculations took a second. Soldato-J answered, "I would cut the chain loose after ramming Renais. The momentum would carry her out of the blast radius."

"Would the momentum carry yourself clear as well?"

"No."

"You would give up your life for hers."

"She is a comrade," Soldato-J answered, though the words felt wooden.

"Would you have done so for a Soldato?" Kaidou Sakura asked. Soldato-J had a feeling she already knew the answer.

"...I... would not have," Soldato-J admitted at length.

"But for Renais, you would. And you would not think twice about it." She patted his hand once again.

"I would do the same for Arma. ...or yourself," Soldato-J added.

"Yes, dear. I know you would. You love us. And I think, if you listen to your heart a little more than your head, you'd see you love Renais as well. Oh, not the same way you love Ikumi and I. Blood relation is a different flavor of love all together. But, well. I think you know."

Soldato-J looked down into the tea's dredges. "I... don't know what you're talking about..."

"Soldato-J. Lying to yourself about your own heart is a recipe for disaster." Kaidou Sakura grabbed a towel; without pausing, she reached up and wiped away splotches of wetness from Soldato-J's cheeks.

"Renais is... simply a partner. Who completes me. I don't... I don't..."

His mother patted his hand again. "Its alright, dear."

Soldato-J gulped, "...I think I do love her." His systems must be malfunctioning. It was the one explanation he could come up with for why he was crying.

"Young love." Kaidou Sakura sighed, staring back into memories. "I remember when Daisuke and I first started dating... It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, indeed. But J." She waited until she had his attention. "This love you feel for Renais. It is a powerful thing. But also, it can be dangerous. It must be treated as a fragile butterfly. Keep your hand open, and it can flower into a wonderful relationship.

"But close your fist, and... Well. You've seen what BioNet does to those it... loves. Close your fist around this butterfly, J, and it will become the same dead and twisted nightmare."

"...but what if she leaves? What if the butterfly... leaves?" J asked.

"Then you hold your head high, and cherish the blossoms the butterfly has left behind." Kaidou Sakura patted his hand again. "I'm sorry, J. Life – especially love – is never easy. Have courage that things will work out as they should. And for goodness sakes, _tell_ Renais how you feel! Women are not psychic. Mothers, slightly so, to keep better tabs on their children. But, no, she isn't going to know how you feel unless you tell her."

Soldao-J nodded as words had abandoned him.

"There now. Take what time you need to pull yourself together." She patted his hand a final time before standing. "I'm going to go sit with Ikumi-kun. Maybe see if he can help me better understand TOMORO-kun's sensor readouts." One final pat, this time to his shoulder.

And then she was gone, leaving Soldato-J to his chaotic thoughts.

* * *

Another day, another battle with BioNet and its offshoots. The target this time had been Black Ghost; the black market underworld was debating if Black Ghost had been an offshoot of BioNet, or if it was the other way around. So far as the mission requirements went, the particulars did not matter. Black Ghost had weapons of mass destruction and had been found trying to start World War III. There had also been blueprints for cyborgs on their mainframe...

His orders had been to leave that investigation to Chasseur. As he had been more worried about Renais (whose cold coat had yet again been damaged) Soldato-J gladly left it to them. At present, all Mobile Unit members, including Chasseur, were stationed aboard Three G Orbit Base. Her repairs would not have taken long...

Soldato-J found her on the starboard observation deck. Her coat glistened in the artificial lights, opaque spots where repair patches had been applied giving the coat a wispy look. The design reminded him of butterfly wings. She turned part way to look at him; gave a flicker of a wave and murmured, "Bonjour, J."

"Renais," Soldato-J greeted her in kind.

"'s a nice view of the moon from here, huh." It was not an actual question, so Soldato-J offered no answer. From his perspective all moons looked the same. Currently, Three G Orbit Base was at an angle so that the moon took up two thirds of their starboard observation deck's grandiose window. "But you didn't come here for the moon," Renais noted at last.

"No," Soldato-J concurred.

"What, did that old oaf I call a father bribe you into tracking me down?" Renais folded her arms along the top of the railing, making a makeshift pillow for her head. "You can tell him to shove it. I'm not due for maintenance yet and that wasn't even a real fight-"

"I love you."

This... was not how he'd planned to tell her. To just blurt it out, interrupting her cool-down tirade.

Renais froze, sculpture still. Then as her index finger traced a fractal pattern on the railing, she murmured, "Its not nice to lie about stuff like that, J."

Should he touch her shoulder? Her hand? Soldato-J instead gripped the railing and wondered if the artificial gravity was malfunctioning. "I do not lie," Soldato-J said instead.

"Considering no one could love me..." Renais stood to her full height, though she kept one hand on the railing. Soldato-J wondered if it was for the same reason he was still holding on. "When I was fourteen, BioNet made me watch as they executed my mother. Then they took four months to turn me into a cyborg. Then, when I was sixteen, I killed them all. And I'll keep killing them all until there's nothing left. Because there's nothing left of me, J. They took everything I am and left a pile of ashes – J!"

He hadn't thought, he'd acted, reaching out and taking her hand in his. J-Jewel connecting to G-Stone. The two gemstones resonated with one another.

"From those ashes has come a phoenix," Soldato-J murmured. Endless Void swallow him he was terrible with words!

"No. Just a ghost. Who will flicker and die as soon as I have my revenge." Her hand touched his cheek. "So you can't love me, J. There's no life in me to love."

"No," Soldato-J countered. Words. Why couldn't he find the words? Or maybe, as the distance between them grew shorter, he did not need words...

No wonder those "romance" movies had so much kissing in them.

"J..." Was it a whisper or a condemnation?

"You are a phoenix, Renais," Soldato-J repeated. "Yours is a life which can never go cold."

There were tears on her cheeks now, too. "Damn it," she murmured. "Just when I was getting used to the idea of being alone for the rest of my days."

Kissing really was such an excellent way of showing affection.

* * *

"What'cha doin'?"

TOMORO-0117 pointedly ignored the inquiry from _them_.

"Oh, I recognize that file. Why are you uploading Renais-onee-chan's cold coat's specs?" AnRyu inquired.

TOMORO-0117 continued updating his database and ignored them as best he could. If J was going to have a deeper relationship with Renais, TOMORO-0117 thought it best to update his systems with her specifications. The J-Ark was equipped with maintenance systems which made the humans' look like those LEGO block things when compared to a skyscraper. Not to speak negatively about the humans' progress in the fields of robotics and cybernetics. They were simply starting from zero, whereas the J-Ark had been built at the height of the Red Planet's scientific prowess.

"Hey, that's Renais-onee-chan's blueprints!" KouRyu protested. She attempted to cut TOMORO-0117 off from his connection to the Three G main computer.

"Quit messing with my files!" TOMORO-0117 ordered.

"But that's Renais-onee-chan's blueprints! You shouldn't have those! She's not yours!"

TOMORO-0117 sputtered at the illogical statement. Of course Renais wasn't "his". Renais was, as the humans would say, her own woman, beholden to none but her own sense of justice. In part, that was why J had developed romantic feelings for her. It was also why she had earned TOMORO-0117's respect.

"TOMORO-kun?"

Thank the J-Jewel, sanity had arrived. "Kaidou-san! Please get these females out of my files!"

"But they're not your files!" AnRyu countered.

"Those are Renais-onne-chan's files! You can't have her!" KouRyu sobbed.

While TOMORO-0117 was flummoxed by their behavior, Kaidou Sakura sighed. "I thought this might come up. KouRyu, AnRyu, let TOMORO-kun finish uploading those files while we talk, hum?"

"B-But..." KouRyu whimpered.

"Did you know there is a more powerful energy than courage?"

Both French AIs "sniffled". "You mean **The Power**?"

"Oh, no. Much, much, much stronger than the forces on Jupiter."

TOMORO-0117 gave the conversation half his attention. A power source stronger than **The Power** was something worth taking into consideration.

Kaidou Sakura waited for the French AIs to settle before continuing. "Oh yes. It is far more powerful than **The Power**. When courage falters, when **The Power** fades, it can never dim. It can only grow stronger. Its name is _love_."

"Love?" The two AIs repeated.

"But that's silly," AnRyu decided. "Love can't be harnessed into energy. Not like courage can through the G-Stone and J-Jewel."

"I don't think the G-Stone or J-Jewel could handle **The Power** either," Kaidou Sakura pointed out.

"Well that's probably true," KouRyu murmured.

"And its because you love your big sister Renais that you both are tormenting poor TOMORO-kun, isn't it?"

Both AIs went mulishly silent. KouRyu broke the silence by whining, "J's gonna take her away~!"

"You see, that's the thing about love. About what makes it so powerful. Love can never go away. It can only grow. And there are so many types of love as well. You love your older brothers, don't you?" Both dragons responded affirmative. "And your friend Mic-san?" Another affirmative. "And if the Three G were to add another pair of AI mecha, you would love them too?"

"Of course we would!" AnRyu chuckled.

KouRyu added, "They'd be our little brothers or sisters!"

"And would you love your older brothers any less?"

"Well..." both AI said, "no."

Kaidou Sakura nodded. "That is why love is so powerful. It never dims. It only grows. Just because Renais loves J, that doesn't mean she loves you both any less than before."

"But... But J's gonna..." KouRyu began to say.

AnRyu turned her attention towards TOMORO-0117. "Aren't you worried, TOM-chan?"

"About what?" TOMORO-0117 inquired. Though the question was probably going to be stupid.

"About... about what if Renais-onee-chan took J away from you."

TOMORO-0117 dismissed the notion with digital snort. "Impossible."

"I'm afraid you'll have to explain a bit better, TOMORO-kun," Kaidou Sakura recommended.

"_Hai._" TOMORO-0117 turned his attention to the French dragons. "A J-Ark and a Soldato-J's systems are interdependent. The J-Ark would be unable to function without a Soldato-J. Likewise, a Soldato-J would be unable to function without a J-Ark. Additionally, the J-Ark's J-Jewel Generator is tuned to the identical frequency as the Soldato-J's J-Jewel. It would be impossible for Renais to take J anywhere without my being able to locate him. This includes leaving the Sol system and/or Milky Way galaxy."

KouRyu pouted, "_Mou! _That means J could take Renais anywhere and we'd never find her!"

"Incorrect." Both AIs "blinked" at him. "Incorrect," TOMORO-0117 repeated. "Any prolonged dispatch operation would proceed more smoothly with tactical assistance. You both could... come with us."

Oh, Void, what was he processing? True, the modifications to maintain Dragon-class Three G robots had already been installed – they had been necessary during the long flight back to Earth – and there had been no reason to or discussion on removing them. It was more than theory that he could take AnRyu and KouRyu and keep them maintained if a lengthy deep space deployment was required. But he was talking about _AnRyu_ and _KouRyu_, two of the most annoying packets of zeros and ones to ever cross his mainframe.

Both AIs "snuggled" against him. "Thank you, TOM-chan!" they chirped.

TOMORO-0117 tried valiantly not to blush. "...you're welcome?"

There was familiar raucous laughter in the background of Kaidou Sakura's transmission. Major Hyuuma was proclaiming, "We aught to add AI psychologist to your title, Kaidou-san!"

"I take it you were an only child, Hyuuma-san?" Kaidou Sakura inquired.

Major Hyuuma demanded, "Wha... How'd you know that?!"

"Because when I found out my big brother was getting married, I was even worse," Kaidou Sakura admitted. An exaggeration, clearly. No one, no thing, could be worse than the French AIs.

Amidst the laughter Kaidou Sakura's comment caused there was a five part synthetic harmony. A cell phone's ring tone? "Oh dear," Kaidou Sakura sighed. Standing up from her station, she requested they, "Please excuse me."

AnRyu and KouRyu exchanged electronic looks with TOMORO-0117. "Since when did Kaidou-san carry a cell phone while on station?" the two AIs inquired.

Since now? TOMORO-0117 was at a loss as well. Instead he covered his confusion by resuming his work analyzing Renais's blueprints.

KouRyu metaphorically leaned in over his shoulder, watching as he worked without actively interfering. "So... are you gonna take over doing Renais-onee-chan's maintenance?" she inquired.

"In the event of an emergency I would. How often does her cold coat break down?"

"Once a mission, give or take," AnRyu answered. "We've taken to carrying spares for her."

"Hum." Perhaps TOMORO-0117 should set her cold coat as a priory regeneration? Or perhaps he could work with Dr. Liger to make a cold coat out of Regenerating Armor? As Renais's G-Stone harmonized with J's J-Jewel they could take the necessary Regenerating Armor matter straight from the J-Ark. No need to re-invent the wheel, so to speak. Yes, that would work. Then the coat could repair itself without all this messy maintenance. Now if only there were a way to correct Renais's heat regulation system without frying her entire nervous system...

Kaidou Sakura returned to her station visibly shaken. She printed off a document from her terminal – TOMORO-0117 snagged a copy of it as it was transmitted to the printer. Then she took the document up to Chief Taiga. The human had to stand up somewhat to receive the document, as Kaidou Sakura was handing it up to him from the level below his dais.

It took a lot to rattle Chief Taiga. Whatever was on that paper was sufficient for him to fall back into his chair with an audible thump. He took out a stamp from his desk drawer, and then stamped the document.

"Miss. Mikoto. You will be handling J-Ark operator duties for the next two months, effective immediately." Before the girl could reply, Chief Taiga was on both feet. And he had both his hands clasped over Kaidou Sakura's. "Godspeed, Kaidou-san. Get well soon."

Get well soon? What was...?

TOMORO-0117 opened the document copy he had snagged. It did not bother him when AnRyu and KouRyu started reading it as well. They had more experience with humans; maybe they could understand... whatever this meant. The first part was formalities. Honor to serve with you, deeply grateful for this opportunity, so on so forth. Then there was this line: _During my medical screening for this position the doctors found a suspicious lump. The biopsy results have now been confirmed. The lump is stage three cancer. As such I am requesting immediate medical leave to.._. The letter trailed on.

"Stage three cancer?" AnRyu and KouRyu echoed the confusion TOMORO-0117 felt.

Whatever it was, it did not sound good. It did not sound good at all.

"I'm calling Renais-onee-chan," KouRyu decided.

There was a transmission incoming from Kaidou Sakura for J. TOMORO-0117 listened in.

"J-san," Kaidou Sakura was saying; her voice was stressed, "I'm sorry to ask, but my I trouble you to take me down to Three G tower, please?"

"Is something wrong?" J demanded.

"Its... difficult to explain..."

Renais's voice cut in from J's side of the communication line. "Yeah... Yeah, I'd say it is. Kaidou-kun's out of school in about an hour?"

"There abouts," Kaidou Sakura confirmed.

"...you want me to be there?" Renais asked.

"The rumor mill can't be that fast, young lady," Kaidou Sakura commented.

"It can be when you have nosy AIs poking into what you print." After Kaidou Sakura sighed, Renais asked again, "Do you want me to be there?"

"Yes... Yes, I think that would be wise."

"Be where?" J demanded.

There was a hiss as Renais patted his armor. "J? Don't ask. Not yet."

* * *

Stage three breast cancer. Terminal, she had said. Even with the operation it could still kill her. And the... treatment. "Chemo therapy". A treatment as horrible as the disease. Maybe worse. The surgery would be today. The treatment would take weeks, possibly months. And then – even then! – the cancer could still come back and kill her anyway. At least the surgery and recovery would occur at Three G Orbit Base. The doctors were going to test a new type of laser which ran off G-Stone energy. Zap the super-regenerating out of control cells without damaging the healthy ones too much. They did not know how well it would work, or if it even would work. It was an experiment.

Mama was going to die. And there was nothing they could do.

Arma moved in to the J-Ark. Soldato-J could not blame him. It was not so much that the Kaidou household was empty. More so, it _felt_ empty with Kaidou Sakura's absence.

"So that is what a home is," Soldato-J mused aloud. Mikoto had pointed out a proverb to him months ago: "Home is where the heart is." And now, with Kaidou Sakura's absence, Soldato-J truly understood.

"J?" Arma inquired. He was doing his math homework; text book and papers were scattered about the floor of the command deck.

"Nothing. Simply... woolgathering, I think its called."

"Mmm." There was silence on the command deck for a time. And then Arma admitted, "I'm scared, J."

Soldato-J took a steadying breath. "That makes two of us, Arma."

"Three," TOMORO-0117 chimed in.

"The actual tally is closer to all of Three G. Or at least those members who have met Kaidou-san," AnRyu reported.

Arma jumped; Soldato-J almost did as well. TOMORO-0117 sighed with a put-upon air, "AnRyu. KouRyu. Please use standard communication protocols."

"We don't wanna and you can't make us," KouRyu giggled.

"Oi, J! Ikumi-kun! Are you two coming back from outer orbit patrol any time soon?" Renais's voice cut in next.

"Your girlfriend can't read a timetable," Arma quipped.

"Oh ha, ha. I'm asking because the doctors – all of 'em, scientific and medical – noticed the J-Jewel you slipped Kaidou-san before her pre-op this morning, and they would like to have words with the guilty party. Very pointy words about scaring the pants off them. J-Jewel plus G-Stone energy equals an amazing light show. No," Renais cut in before either could ask, "nothing was broken, damaged, or otherwise singed beyond repair. But you both may want to stay out there for longer than another two hours. Give 'em time to calm down."

"Or," KouRyu giggled, "you _could_ talk Mikoto-chan into letting you use the ES Missiles to come to NASA with us!"

"Ah!" AnRyu giggled as well. "That's a great idea! Mic the 13th asked us to help with presenting a light and sound show spectacular for a local children's hospice."

"A children's... hospice?" Soldato-J repeated the unfamiliar term.

"Kids who are already dead, but keeping fighting to get one more day of life in," Renais explained in her usual blunt manner. When her explanation received silence, she sighed, "You didn't think your mama was the only one who ever had to fight cancer, did you? Some people are even worse off."

"Tonight was supposed to be a concert among the stars, but the weather's turned ucky, so we were gonna do a laser light show instead!" KouRyu joyfully picked back up the tale. "But...~!"

"If the J-Ark were to assist, it could still be a concert among the stars _and_ a laser light show," AnRyu giggled.

The two French AIs pleaded in unison, "Please, J-kun, Kaidou-kun, TOM-chan~!"

"How many children?" TOMORO-0117 inquired.

"Mic-kun says there's about fifty," AnRyu answered promptly.

Arma and Soldato-J exchanged speaking looks. Fifty. Fifty children, with accompanying adults, and the Void knew what else. Where would they even sit? The axillary command deck wasn't that large. One of the minor cargo bays could be rigged for stadium seating... and a reverse polarity matrix applied to the door could turn it see-through enough for star gazing without putting passengers at risk. Would local stars be better or a trip to Jupiter? The latter for a climax?

"Three G Main Order Room has authorized use of ES Missiles in atmosphere," TOMORO-0117 announced.

Arma was working on picking up his homework. "Jupiter's storms would make a shocking finally," he agreed.

Then that was that. Besides, it would make for an interesting story to tell mother when she was moved to the recovery ward. A concert through the stars...

"ES Missiles, launch!"

"Roger!"

A concert through the stars... Yes, what a fitting story to tell mama on their way home.


End file.
